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Cn it * a) RL eae - 4 jer 
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? ied kd Sahel Me y dew Aeyayation they a ae Ae abe etl gh ot 9 isdelie)t yay, 
STEAL hoe bene are etait: Paaainan vobstnuh heh taro 
r Aa on. ah oe sib HRPM eer yr rent a phi aa} 
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t) ‘ Prati ett id -" 
thew a: nse rise RATE) yee fa ob 167 Reaai sans reitie qunitatl dehy 
nee ee gatas shegai wadaiad eben 


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eben ® : Agaene eit WE 
ef at’ ite ig Mos de} vai = ; pebe Wives CA aie rae bed A Led ih thar ad A i hr 
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* ] ih en hhh de eat nae ibe Aiih teat etl nn ae ty ann (ard se Great si) sibel ab SEEMS Uh Fania singe rege abel sR Sa ECR SUD Mua 
h et He Ge saneny fed chen ah snatch oh ai } aseuae Peres Meier ety ue omy babe betta Hh stamp ant etd aes bres sibel or ait seeuens ih ateatetle iat me 
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uwy : ay " ee Weed Ab dried bay Pung pret a9 ba Ved fay ahve penerea eres Casha gabihataospnettr enim 
pedrved Ji ; es oh et Aererer ei tseue ty ROL EURh WibLbs MUnLaA id ai} i ot iden ep aire: Wal} sd aida os Bi) silat ah tae bebidas Hebbet 
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vty ‘| en) ali it pat ey rly Wwe Hb iabraste be italeJatathensagicke ian ity fei aL ih ail i 4 erat " iitecastiaiaeen 
af t fod) ube je 4 Dd ? ilo he Sit ib al oy 4 
Hf Os eh ha fed Had f 4 aif aia gril hoot eet pede A Ladabav ri shel Waar ese iy is 
iii Ee Pune baht) 














nye 

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af ait sa certp ed Boi 4) chewed A Fh ay 8 ahd rte ag es halle eae Fisted ib sit Che iitsne hoi hatte iricel ati 
* * Vdeya Taio alan abr mieh at ef Ranaut aie aie bala prehbh ey 








































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aa SHEER rae BALE hh ‘i an aise vit Ah bei iets 

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soiy ahviden ae vib wt bY Shania ofl 
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rer iprter ih! 7 

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Pius hese Atl 
ia Shih capri hye * wm i “44 HH “ i Lr taata it ii ay eats sitet (sant gel 
doh ad Pius} " ve! (4 mii? wont ae of i cf 
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nas eh toh AIM stl: prt savers 4 eh Ap eslabandls aca etal ani ft ast sep 15 7) Hy Her ysis asin Fale bebeyial May uh i Rene Drath hk eh hi 
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u ga ay mt “4 ali ees nt At gad ale isis veh We ue Hobe Pot ae ae akan pate nails ue 
y n h a whet nu p 4 A 
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aay ena td aot amity cal} beeiboti a! 
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rat yeasty jailed 


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if nf psc OO La ine ilannadpaatraannon ena tetralaae 

Bai; By . a oe ay ah thd ra “ igo 

diag isk d ea naeae teas Tigard itacicnn bes hy Hist igh tiles tt : Hit fhohien iit oth ain Bie is 
far Medan sd any a ak oak elven ells iti Isic, 


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bray) 










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ine Mi th Si ident 

latina igen ait ae 

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oe rates TS sail ya ehh ata tere Lote citi ee ainity 

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i My) We Fite Fe batt BT heeled idiisnan the Mp Pi \- attsheisis i 
Feerdatisenl saahc joa nat sifadaiy ad 


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stat at 





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Hs nent Sapien aietton st t4aih 


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pile ‘in ‘i itis ita oF Theat " 





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va y HW tah phil iy shel i 
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ai Hype (Levit 
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werere rer tre G 












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ihr Wileat igh tok ead aa mica ani carat miei ‘ 


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liek reeeat i dit 


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i ie ie cree 
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aH ll del wear aat saath feta t et phe if eta Hants yi 
‘init s I seopae winks UND Alkshlr sr Pap ubs ai i Pats 
tt Pager h eee Way itn none 
































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d adash na Peete eds rt 
Lag it a Hy het ieee wlaet Plat 


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dinar taate ioe Leyte eds sit or 
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fi iN i: it ib ea) ene iseiateedaenel sh D ie Tae at ive Pinu LF i olka’ ar in f Mone 4 aah A elh i at 
eran 4 EUR i aeshthy i+(pes yell vadjrth Ws tates i oh Lie y ih ; fi aie i if Pe eaith 
neha alist haat ty ; att sts et: Tee Iron ervey Bt pitta! et) thiol sisi 
4 Ged ah aisusss sill Ai Lanai 


i bigot ; Fithoetis 

et i a ate ritet)” oth VP ‘ patra 
i aire 

tint nat id 

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te ih par treble sweet ih Pe Prunapprsdae Di etanin evi nebas 
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iain ida Sica le ace erat ant tate fait 
te tay ¢ seh =\tod en th rt - Ce ere jai 
aa : is (paid “as Ps iil eitetie Ai Meaeliat preter ea Wescrath Se gh Oite@s i hebben: mere ie isa ana she) ais =If pas aan ays 
He . Haddad i) sift Aherid thee Hains tad eae aan tek baie sient ape 4. ct A Rinsre i alla ats a be rid oh 
if ty bir ig day ese pints Nhatrenbsthin 244 ata Cras nant nied Loney, ene i pees rs i eatin itsveyctsigit ites 
adel ) it Agi is isi 8 mina ata inant Paiva pei ! o ‘4 al yp bob y sain i Ta lias eal 8 i yer 
Hh iin tA <i A Wout 4 Fe aie mh iv Puerta by Ch AL in a bP bt Lah Hi hanes the tis saat ish oh Ava ait pit i as 
Gol eget ads 3) aah 8 nase N Ss) Ieseuedea tote assent lanai sr eed rh aaa bi ened “4 Tai sila chchabadelT tht) 
rear Pa rwiihan rah ea Mette rare pi Ca ‘ime tI vidal tat heheh atal a ehall cri sid ted 7 
a et : 4S ald ents deliednliaeaiseetic tt} id haat heen i tera beh rb hye ted Put hit Bel fupty Mara peal bi 
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i is iia! i‘ Pushin 2 stan den sit bs penal i ANG, MW +h me shen ye Spal iy ery by eed | PUR ‘i i vin 
tel oa all he i vith ta aah pie sehen y: ral Tait i enc 
ite retitled henthnstha tht att eH foe atl Sr phh dy a bein all: pire ic srt ste ah a) ion hit ‘i ait aif Himiyafl sh 
1 Sy Tieton yited 1484 tip Aste = lista Livro ets MA Tet Taienaiaiad an aan 44) 
it tase Heil Malbitee an saris ; ree pera tithe pins teueilans Siete a, tha / viene deh ateeh i isi dissents 
, pnb Fier PA rics s shat Mr ve ri ent ce vias, itt t phi 4 rsh ant tit NAM Saaeslia) ain Sie Hae Pa) af shal 
baci Td le earbuds 48 Tada vated geass pr ee beige er pine are Bua borer siaretadsiaaa easad Ht Linjtatdeiie 
hans Widen d si\vToll iat hah that rarer jatiels~ ea a “led a4 j (lied Tires pie oasis 9 3) Mis a phic Hier alban Ea A 
#it-heal fit) it aide a ates sf tities! Pate ih 4 } < ea aaieidemanin nn i) ii aad id Halts ei th see ini " 
y erie " ten 
ache ee renter i P utonb herpes Sitnaai ‘vein Hun arise 









reat i emer ae it if (oan ss harp ean ph 
Seamer te ‘ : bye HU dial gett adialbell peta aban 

at hye | Doub scragags pyres tia rete ry eng tial [ spe! aaeannaany ‘einda niatal a es dell 

wit i bs rg ese Wek tit at bie 4 Hie ibe ai rahe HoH aa ol ath Ceara) Hellshaiiel hal het site 

myriad arr eR lear pe aate fecsiiveans i sai atiee tite Misi ie sitdraeadstay Hf Phurphis} Raping inion i 

ait bf oath Spat at Heh Careheas pe bieitial ee 


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bl fl ie | 
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hated 


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( i yah wT be ee de 
ble bhatt 04 OPraD ee SU URL EL ba Bact it 
{ a4 aed atten] beat) sia» ie vil pay oi tlm A Ab ast eh flaca avo al <i aja itu 
+’ 4004) Teeth haa MRT bey ; ee ai} S a tle Hace ohne ines aitall af 
af anal sabia tt ott oat 9h pret ih ihinthe Ses itati Red i (idadedatiaiiat bres " Ltt 
Ne ao Bri PE nyhy bitte bepomnenee viv Uryielerine a1 dal baka iaaelits 
474 f - / mai amd be aka i if beth yes hoherden rbhabps Wall a Menai a: Tanchalsiat ala made (a) abel iene LguRibys 
bok ideas ; if . Te Aeay hedoti his Laie Ant sk aitadl Wsdad=ilat sob sill amt nif sialon eT hy pene iy allt 4 aiteaan ete hats a HAY hy " Nae ce 
48 Ay did fe eat d : tia re vied aasigainet he eat A " baru tates shes al Pob bi me Pei btm | iene a i cite tH AL jolt i hn ia eB sien Li Ui Cr 
wh ke bod leah Cusiahol ath | tie stad Hs rr sh arate gt a Pihyn eye eh dette il oti if si ih cy ict (ain ih Furst i a4 thet mate at fe 
raped 4 ih ae) Bw! ett al 1 “ue fos wl bot DES Let Bek Id ! We h 
wed Wb Ruta Rosser bat rahe ti Ha ih Uri ERs iu het tine aks ‘iit sight ii th 3 
{adntlatveth t= let hn id rit ah} 
aisle wieh a irl vital) Wt stoned " iN i 
y j 





eget 
SH et Maat LL nel Hatott heat ay arta a 
ii fetta elasbona ai ai ual i; heh is i 


bi 


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aaa, Ppsahbipar eee icine Minh a Rhea 

a Jor jan dal } i f 

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a4 a 4" yi gatban 
cote eat 
TOL ed beni ih wet 
Me Med domett 
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«deh thee? ib il he 
4 AWG (Abell fototd 
ae al ted 1H thant! 2AM feed be Bae ath Heth 
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ae 


















































iy ORI ee Yad bodes ver i 
Sob el BT tea held a hets Ney dole ait nda 
fer pr er ewer Mt rc LU sL eh Site fay 

ie jase foheag 
Hat adel: Uh = 
cot adt Magaad. 




















i : veicineas Feta acackes : 
Teli hated ean oie Liubnibesr " sip totbadt 
Aha yer priate peek Heda O ad ale tHe tanh Agi ois ht 4 bs if bi Prog phi ep sha “ag ct Bee nH riheraat roche pe pnn 
ty rials pple ht phen arent fabratgeta prot ree He : aie 
qticeitisanands “we Teter rarer prere pors Sag tamid Neale aaetnic am lan dla a his 
EDR teeth A Mey Di) Mee ghia fst snedantic @: Keil How ate Deeded tele atathath alti alt ih tt 
ad ai net ‘feat alton Ab WEA eon beet ian tana! dlfaes iN fig sAg 000 athe lh adi ip title Als toate rh Li Hes Reh 
ahi.) Lebel aid lee) He nie recrurwngdneld Podeniatl elle eth Miia cain rHhea th aeG) alk il ol benifit Talat aft Wa baifa a9) 
aa Fade Holl fh 2 Ul veereleyea iti vehaibeit sit aii i lpatharibeitl sini} a fatkat 3 ist 4 Par jie a 
i tiated rererer doilet sailed aif Weak Hind hen Yl ihc eti = rurseyhesh yh aie a We erates isos Dol Reig 
ie tified + deed a ering PY onal Nei saa tae oft atlalindbatt shalt: ie is at) Kettelt fete apap reap bit nt i. (weeny 9! peal a hal 
sakes fhedtatbalhs 1! Teteg iwi Misha ste ath Molt 4, eel ihe hth Aleit ol ih Ae olt cident opignl janie ih sili visio eiabel a Moat ip dhe a A hen ree Ut jnitee ibe Ped 
(del ad yh lbetsatl bre Habart ole heath Stott} all Hatateia Shaya at ae ea elateeen tet Hi iaishalsh at iyhsf teaziad fist itt saint ; 
Pista | Aiea athada te ubeadit ed Teds detent sib ais haat jaa tatadialiseai scasuital ans sian math asi att? 
unas Wb de dade lt : 1 Haas itensdbgackeiaits tA aime Hal simibe lool irpiures bit tet hath We aihirlead 
Sahih Vitae ntl aeedaitelh ed it sh Syoesdethed that) oto) tht ae Dee Fait steeih ad otenthaitas ani tied ih itn 
Bd fete” ned ah at Leth ibe tiated halted sitesi ath ath lh 21h adh nth dibeorib ot (agai dabained ae be “ wens a 
Vall athedawedle i Wid sWadaielbatiatl seb aid sibel aif fast Vatialt nll shat Es) r “iu 
iden de oh rts itead ba it ieee ah or ftaeh hs" i aaeenitagl neh altad a! Hd shale nae i 
halt alt Melitta Heit giahen siti Fiala aleiedalshanahadatind aflatl al: ihe 
albnif paid Petal eRe seat euch okey U asenyiar ee bed HELA Ae ern ‘ 
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LI ii ve at l 


ILL INONS 
INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL 


YUCATAN. 


BY JOHN L. STEPHENS, 


AUTHOR OF “INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN EGYPT, ARABIA PETR/ZA, AND THE 
HOLY LAND,’ “INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA, ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED BY 120 ENGRAVINGS 


IN TWO VOLUMES. 


WO} Eee eT: 


NEW YORK: 


PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS. 


1858, 


irntered, according to Act o, Congress, in the year 1843, by 
HarpPer & BRoTHERs, 
In the Clerk’s Office of the Southern District of New-York 


CONTENTS 


OF 


THE SECOND VOLUME. 


CHAPTER I. 


Departure from Nohcacab.—Outfit—Rancho of Chack.—Fright 
of the Women.—Rancho of Schawill.—Casa.Real.—Scarcity 
of Water.—Visit from the Alcalde.—Primitive Mode of obtain- 
ing Water:—A peculiar People.—Ruins of Zayi.—Great tree- 
covered Mound.—The Casa Grande.—Fortunate Discovery.— 
Staircase.—Doorways, &c.—Buildings on the second Terrace. 
—Doorways.—Curiously ornamented Columns.—Building on 
the third Terrace.—Doorways, Apartments, &c.—Stone Lin- 
tels.—Facade of the second Range of Buildings.—Ground Plan 
of the three Ranges.—The Casa Cerrada.+Doorways filled up 
inside with Stone and Mortar.—Finished Apartments, also filled 
up.—This filling up simultaneous with the Erection of the Build- 
ing.—A Mound.—Ruined Building.— Its Interior.— Sculptured 
Head, &c.—A strange Structure.—An Archway.—Perpendicu- 
lar Wall.—Stuccoed Figures and Ornaments.—Great Terrace 
and Building.—Apartments, &c.—Want of Interest manifested 
by the Indians in regard to these Ruins ‘ : . Page 9 


CHAPTER IL. 


Visit to a ruined Building near Chack.—A Field of Taje—Descrip- 
tion of the Building.—Hornet’s Nest.— Young Vulture.—Pictu- 
resque View from the Terrace.—-Well of Chack.—Exploration 
of its Passages.—Return to the Rancho.—Departure from Scha- 
will.—The Camino Real.—Rancho of Sennacté.—Wild Appear- 
ance of the Indians.—Continued Scarcity of Water.—Another 
ruined City.—Two ruined Buildings.—Apartments, Columns, 
&c,—High Wall.—Journey continued.—Rancho of Sabachshé. 


ALG 6F 


iV CONTENTS. 


—Casa Real.—Well.—Hut of the Alealde.—The Seiiora.—Rur. 
of Sabachshé.—Picturesque Edifice.—Alacrity of the Indians.— 
Facade.—Pilasters, Cornices, &c.—Encounter with an Iguaria.— 
Another Ruined Building. — The Agave Americana. — More 
Ruins.—The Red Hand.—The Red Hand used as a Symbol by 
the North American Indians.—Conclusions to be deduced from 
this Circumstance.—Delicate Manner of doing a Service 

Page 29 


CHAPTER IIL. 


Ruins of Labna.—Accounts of the Indians not to be relied on.— 
Irretrievable Ruin. — Extraordinary Structure. — Doorways. — 
Chambers.—Gigantic Wall, covered with Designs in Stucco.— 
Dedth’s Heads.— Human Figures in Alto Relievo.— Colossal 
Figure seated.—Large Ball and Figures.—Dilapidated State of 
this Structure.—An arched Gateway.—Other Buildings.—Rich- 
ly ornamented Doorway.—Courtyard.—Ornaments in Stucco. 
—Large Building.— Magnificent Edifice.—-Facgade ornamented 
with sculptured Stone.—Circular Hole leading to a subterra- 
nean Chamber.—Ihe Ramon Tree.—A Cave.—Conversation 
with the Indians.—A Ride to the Hacienda of Tabi. —Sculp- 
tured Ornament.—Other Figures.—Visit to a Cave.—Tree-en- 
cumbered Path.—A Vaquero.—Descent into the Cave.—Fan- 
ciful Scene.—Return to the Rancho.—A Warm Bath . A9 


CHAPTER IV. 


Search for Ruined Cities continued.—Journey to the Rancho of 
Kewick.—Ruined Building.—Lose the Road.—Set right by an 
Indian.—Arrival at Kewick.—The Casa Real.—Visit from the 
Proprietor of fhe Rancho, a full-blooded Indian.—His Charac- 
ter.—Visit to the Ruins.—Garrapatas.—Old Walls.—Facgades.— 
Imposing Scene of Ruins.—Principal Doorway.—Apartments. 
—Curious Painting.—Excavating a Stone.—A long Building.— 
Other Ruins.—Continued Scarcity of Water.—Visit to a Cave, 
called by the Indians Actum.—A wild Scene.—-An Aguada.— 
Return to the Casa Real.—A Crisis in Money Matters:—Jour 
ney to Xul.—Entry into the Village.—The Convent.—Recep- 
tion.— The Cura of Xul.— His Character.— Mingling of Old 
Things with New.—The Church.—A Levée. A Welcome Ar- 
rival: fi; “ieee yh oe ee hae ee ake 66 


nS 


CONTENTS. Vv 


CHAPTER V. 


Journey to the Rancho of Nohcacab.—A Fountain and Seybo 
Tree.—Arrival at the Rancho.—Its Appearance.—A sick Trio. 
—Effects of a good Breakfast.—Visit to the Ruins.—Terrace 
and Buildings.—Three other Buildings.—Character of these 
Ruins.—Disappointment.—Return to Xul.-—Visit to another ru- 
ined City.—Ruined Building.—An Arch, plastered and covered 
with Painted Figures.—Other Paintings.—Subterranean Well. 
—Return to the Village.—J ourney to Ticul.—Large Mounds.— 
Passage of the Sierra.—Grand View.—Arrival at Ticul.—A_ Vil- 
lage Festival.— Ball of the Mestizas. — Costumes. — Dance of 
the Toros.—Las@ing Cattle.—Ball by Daylight.—The Fiscales. 
—Ludicrous Scene.—A Dance.—Love in a Phrensy.—A unique 
Breakfast.—Close of the Ball . : : ‘ . Page 86 


CHAPTER VI 


Bull-fights.—Horse-race.—Bull-fighters.—Their villanous Appear- 
ance.—Death of a Bull.—A Ball of Etiquette.—Society in Yu- 
catan.—Costumes at the Ball.—More Bull-fights.—A Mestiza. 
—Scenes in the Bull-ring.--A Storm.—Dispersion of the Spec 
tators.—A Discovery.—A new Reformation in Yucatan.—Celi- 
bacy of Priests.—A few Words about the Padres.—Arrival of Mr. 
Catherwood and Dr. Cabot.—Rain.—Daguerreotyping.—‘ The 
‘Ancient Chronology of Yucatan.”—Don Pio Perez.—Calendar 
of the Ancient Indians.—Substantially the same with that of the 
Mexicans.—This Fact tends to show the common Origin of the 
aboriginal Inhabitants of Yucatan and Mexico . , ~ 109 


CHAPTER VIL 


Return to Nohcacab.—Final Departure from this Village.—An 
Indian Sexton.—Route.—* Old Walls.”—Ruins of Sacbey.— 
Paved Road.—Journey continued.—Ruins of Xampon.—Inpo- 
sing Edifice.-—“‘ Old Walls,” called by Indians Xlapphak.— 
Ruins of Hiokowitz and Kuepak.—Zekilna.—Altar for burning 
Copal.—Ancient Terrace.—Lofty stone Structure.—Remains of 
a Building.—Sculptured Stones.—Platform.—Rancho of Chun- 
huhu.—Become involuntary Masters of a Hut.—Its interior Ar- 
rangements.—Scarcity of Water.—Pressing Wants.—Visit to 
the Ruins.—Two Buildings.—Facade.—Ornamented Doorways. _ 


Vi 


CONTENTS. 


—Welcome Visiter amaeher Building.—Plastered Front.— 
A Building seen from the Terrace.—Visit to the Ruins of School- 
hoke.—Large stone Structure.—Ranges of Buildings.—Circu- 
lar Stone.—Ruined Edifice.—Representations of Human Fig- 
ures.—Return to the Rancho.—Benefits of a Rain . Page 121 


CHAPTER VIII. 


Journey to Bolonchen. —Bad Road. — Large Hacienda. — Impo- 


sing Gateway.—An inhospitable Host.—Ruins of Ytsimpte.— 
Ruined Edifice. — Staircase with sculptured Stones. — Square 
Building. —Fagade decorated with Pillars.—Ruined Walls.— 
Remains of a sculptured Figure.—Character and Aspect of 
the Ruins.—Departure. — Arrival at the Village of Bolonchen. 
—Scene of Contentment.—Wells.—Derivation of the Word Bo- 
lonchen.—Origin of the Wells unknown.—The Cura:—Visit to 
an extraordinary Cave.—Entrance to it.—Precipitous Descents 
—A wild Scene.—Rude Laddef$.—Dangers of the Descent.— 
Indian Name of this Cave.—A subterranean Ball-room.—Cav 
ernous Chamber.— Numerous Passages. — Great Number of 
Ladders.—Rocky Basin of Water.—Great Depth of the Cave. 
—A Bath in the Basin.—Its Indian. Name.—Return to the 
Rocky Chamber.—Exploration of another Passage.—Another 
Basin.— Indian Stories.—Two other Passages and Basins.— 
Seven Basins in all.—Indian Names of the remaining five.— 
Want of Philosophical Instruments. — Surface of the Country. 
—This Cave the sole Watering-place of a large Indian Village. 
—Return.—Visit to the Cura.—Report of more Ruins . 187 


CHAPTER IX. 


Departure from Bolonchen.—Lose the Road.—Sugar Rancho.—A 


new Section of Country.—Rancho of Santa Rosa.—Annoy- 
ance from Fleas.—Visit to the Ruins of Labphak.—A lofty 
Structure.—Apartments, &c.—Staircases.—Doorways.—Inter- 
esting Discovery.—Courtyard.—Square Building on the second 
Terrace.—Ornaments in Stucco.—Oblong Building on the third 
Terrace.—Colossal Figures and Ornaments.—Centre Apart- 
ment.—Tokens of recent Occupation.—Ground Plan of the low- 
er Rangewof Apartments.—Sculptured Bas-reliefs.—Builders 
adapted their Style to the Materials at Harfd.—Abode at the 


CONTENTS. Vil 


Ruins. — Wants. — Moonlight Scene. — Painting. — Circular 
Holes.—Range of Buildings.—Staircases.—Ornaments in Stuc- 
co.—Rain.—Love of the Marvellous . : ‘ . Page 157 


CHAPTER X. 


Departure from Labphak.—Sugar Ranchos.—Hacienda of Jalasac. 
—Cultivation of Sugar.—Another Rancho.—Its neat Appear- 
ance.—Senor Trego’s Establishment.—A Well.—Seybo Trees. 
—Journey resumed.—Village of Iturbide.—Its Settlement and 
rapid Growth.—An Acquaintance.—Oppressive Attentions.— 
Lunar Rainbow.—Appearance of the Village.—Mound of Ru- 
ins.—Visit to the Ruins of Zibilnocac.—A Well.—A long Edi- 
fice.—Lazy Escort.—An anxious Host. —Return to the Village. 
—A prosperous Emigrant.—A Dinner.—Medical Practice.—De- 
plorable Condition of the Country in regard to Medical Aid.— 
Second Visit to the Ruins.—F ront of an Edifice.—Square Struct- 
ures.—Interesting Painting. An ancient Well. — Mounds.— 
Vestiges of a great City . OM. . : : Tare 


CHAPTER XI. 


End of Journey in this Direction.—Lake of Peten.—Probable Ex- 
istence of Ruins in the Wilderness.—Islands in the Lake of Pe- 
ten.—Peten Grande.—Mission of two Monks.—Great Idol of the 
Figure of a Horse.—Broken by the Monks, who in Consequence 
are obliged to leave the Island.—Second Mission of the Monks. 
—Sent away by the Indians.—Expedition of Don Martin Ursua. 
—Arrival at the Island.—Attacked by the Indians, who are de- 
feated.—Don Martin takes Possession of Itza.—Temples and 
Idols of the Indians.—Destroyed by the Spaniards.—Flight of 
the Indians into the Wilderness.—Preparations.—Illness of Mr. 
Catherwood.—Effects of Gambling.—From the Church to the 
Gaming-table.-—How People Live at Iturbide.—Departure.— 
Rancho of Noyaxche , : : : : r . 191 


CHAPTER XI. 


Journey resumed.—An Aguada.—The Aguadas artificial, and built 
by the Aboriginal Inhabitants.—Examination of one by Seiior 
Trego.—Its Construction.—Ancient Wells.— Pits.— A Sugar 


“1 CONTENTS. 


* Rancho.—Rancho of ’Y-a-Walthel.—Rancho of Choop.—Arni 
val at Macoba.—The Ruins.—Lodgings in a miserable Hut.— 
Wells.— Ruined Buildings.—Another Aguada.—Pits.—Aston- 
ishment of the Indians.—Falling in Love at first Sight.—Inte1- 
esting Characters.—Departure.—Thick Undergrowth.—Rancho 
of Puut.—An Incident.—Situation of the Rancho.—Water.— 
Ruins of Mankeesh . : : ‘ x d . Page 208 


CHAPTER XIII. 


zancho of Jalal.—Picturesque Aguada.—Excavations made in tt 
by the Indians. — System of Aguadas. — Journey resumed. — 
Lose the Road.—An Effort in the Maya Language.—Grove of 
Orange Trees.—Ruins of Yakatzib.—-Dilapidated Edifice.—Sto- 
ny Sierra. —Village of Becanchen.— Hospitality.—Sculptured 
Stones. — Wells. — Running Stream of Water.— Derivation of 
the Word Becanchen.—Rapid Growth of the Village.—Source 
of the Water of the Wells.—Accident to an Indian.—The Par- 
ty separate.—Aguadas.—A Trogon.—Hacienda of Zaccacal.— 
Visit to the Ruins. — Stone Terrace. — Circular Hole. — Two 
Buildings.—Garrapatas.—Black Ants.—Return . : . 224 


CHAPTER XIV. 


Village of San José.—Thatched Church.—The Cura.—A refrac- 
tory Indian.—Attachment of the Indians.—Journey to Mani.— 
The Sierra.—Hacienda of Santa Maria.—A ruined Mound.— 
Good Road.—Arrival at the City of Tekax.—A bloodless Rev- 
olution.—Situation and Appearance of the City.—An interest- 
ing Meeting.—Curiosity of the People-—Akil.—The Site of a. 
ruined City.—Sculptured Stones.—Journey resumed.—Arrival 
at Mani.—Historical Notice.—Tutul Xiu.—Embassy to the 
Lords of Zotuta.—Ambassadors murdered.—Mani the first inte- 
rior Town that submitted to the Spaniards.—Scanty Supply of 
Water throughout the Country.—Important Consideration. —A 
touching Discovery . : ; j : : . . 239 


CHAPTER XV. 


Buying a Wardrobe.—Crowd of Loungers.—Visit to the Ruins.— 
A long Edifice built by the Spaniards.—Interesting Well.—In- 
dian Legend.—The Mother of the Dwarf.—Exploration of the 


CONTENTS. 1X 


Well.—Remains of-large Mounds.—Cogolludo.—Ancient and 
curious Painting.—Books and ancient Characters of the Indians 
- burned by the Spaniards.—Archives of Mani.—Important Doc- 
uments.—Ancient Map.—Instrument endorsed on its Back. — 
Important Bearing of these Documents.—What was Uxmal !— 
Argument.— No Vestiges of a Spanish Town at Uxmal.— 
Churches erected by the Spaniards in all their Settlements.— 
No Indications of a Church at Uxmal.—Conclusions.—Suspi- 
cions of the People.—Church and Convent.—Extensive View 
from the Top of the Church . P ; : . Page 257 


CHAPTER XVI. 


Departure from Mani.—Ornithology of Yucatan.—Discoveries of 
Doctor Cabot.— Village of Tixmeach.—Peto.—Church and Con- 
vent.—News from Home.—Don Pio Perez.—Indian Almanac. 
—A Fragment of Maya Manuscript. — Journey resumed. — 
Taihxiu.—Yaxcala.—Pisté.—Arrival at Chichen.—First Sight 
of the Ruins.—The Hacienda.—A strange Reception.—Lodg- 
ings.—Situation of the Ruins.—Mr. Burke.—Magnificent Ap- 
pearance of the Ruins.—Derivation of the Word Chichen.—Se- 
notes.—Different from those before presented.—Mischievous 
Boys.—Failure of the Corn Crop 5 : : : . 275 


CHAPTER XVIL 


Plan of the Ruins.—An Edifice called Akatzeeb.—Doorways.— 
Apartments.—Circular Mass of Masonry.—Mysterious Cham- 
ber.—Sculptured Stone Tablet.—Majestic Pile of Building call- 
ed the Monjas.—Hieroglyphics.—Rich Ornaments.—Doorways, 
Chambers, &c.—Remains of Painting.—The Eglesia, or Church. 
—Ornaments on the Facade.—Cartouches in Plaster.—Circular 
Kdifice called the Caracol.—Apartment.—Staircase, having on 
each Side entwined Serpents.—Gigantic Head.—Doorways.— 
Paintings.—Building called Chichanchob.—Ornaments.—Row 
of Hieroglyphics.—Another Building.—Vestiges of Mounds and 
ruined Buildings.—Extraordinary Edifice, to which the Name 
Gymnasium or Tennis-court is given.—Ormamented Columns.— 
Sculptured Figures in Bas-relief.—Massive Stone Rings, with 
entwined Serpents.—Indian Sports.—T'wo Ranges of Buildings. 
— Procession of Tigers. —Sculptured Columns.—Figures in Bas- 


x CONTENTS. 


relief.— Richly-carved Lintel.— Paintings. — The Castillo.- 

Staircase. — Colossal Serpents’ Heads.—Doorways.—Carved 
Lintels.—Jambs ornamented with Sculptured Figures.—Corri- 
dors.—Apartments.—Square Pillars, covered with Sculptured 
Figures.—Rows of Columns.—Occupation and Abandonment of 
Chichen by the Spaniards.—First Discovery of Chichen.—Se- 
notes . A : i 3 : : ; ; . Page 290 


CHAPTER XVIIL 


Departure from Chichen.—Village of Cawa.—Cuncunul.—Arrival 
at Valladolid.—An Accident.—Appearance of the City.—Don 
Pedro Baranda’s Cotton Factory.—A Countryman.—Mexican 
Revolution.—The Indians as Soldiers.—Adventures of a Demo- 
nio.—Character of the People.—Gamecocks.—Difficulty of ob- 
taining Information in regard to the Route.—Departure for the 
Coast.—Party of Indians.—Village of Chemax.—Fate of Molas 
the Pirate.—Discouraging Accounts.—Plans deranged.—The 
Convent.—The Cura.—Population of the Village.—Its early 
History.—Ruins of Coba.-—Indian Sepulchre.—Relics.—A Pen- 
knife foundinthe Sepulchre. A : : : . 325 


CHAPTER XIX. 


Departure.—Journey to Yalahao.—Stony Road.—Arrival ,at the 
Port. — The Sea. —Appearance of the Village. — Bridge. — 
Springs. — Pirates.—Scarcity of Ramon. — The Castillo. — Its 
Garrison.—Don Vicente Albino.—An Incident.—Arrangements 
for a Voyage down the Coast.—Embarcation.—The Canoa El 
Sol.—Objects of the Voyage.—Point Moscheto.—Point Fran- 
ces.—An Indian Fisherman.—Cape Catoche.—The first Land- 
ing-place of the Spaniards. — Island of Contoy. — Sea-birds,— 
Island of Mugeres.—Lafitte.—Harpooning a Turtle.—Different 
Kinds of Turtle.—Island of Kancune.—Point of Nesuc.—Sharks. 
—Moschetoes. — Bay of San Miguel. — Island of Cozumel. — 
Rancho established by the Pirate Molas.—Don Vicente Albino. 
—Mr. George Fisher.—Piratical Aspect of the Island.—A Well. 
—Plantation of Cotton.—Stroll along the Shore : . 345 


CONTENTS. ie Xl 


CHAPTER XxX. 


A crippled Dog.—Island of Cozumel known to the Natives by the 
Name of Cuzamil.—Discovered by Juan De Grijalva.—Extracts 
from the Itinerary of his Voyage.—Towers seen by the Span- 
iards.—An ancient Indian Village.—Temples.—Idols prostrated 
by the Spaniards.—Present State of the Island.—Overgrown 
with Trees.—Terrace and Building.—Another Building.—These 
Buildings probably the Towers seen by the Spaniards.—Identi- 
cal with those on the Mainland.—Ruins of a Spanish Church.— 
Its History unknown.—Vanity of Human Expectations.—Opin- 
ion of the old Spanish Writers.—Their Belief that the Cross was 
found among the Indians as a Symbol of Christian Worship. 
—The “ Cozumel Cross” at Merida.—Platform in Front of the 
Church.—Square Pillars.—Once supported Crosses.—The Coz- 
umel Cross one of them.—The Cross never recognised by the 
Indians as a Symbol of Worship.—Rare Birds.—A Sudden 
Storm.—The Canoa in a Strait.—Fearful Apprehensions 

Page 365 . 


CHAPTER XXL. 


Search for the Canoa.—An Iron-bound Coast.—A wild Opening. 
—A sheltered Cove.—The Canoa found.—The Account of the 
Patron.—A Man overboard.—Resurn.—Sea-shells.—Departure 
from Cozumel.—Coast of Yucatan.—Square Buildings.—First 
Sight of the Castillo of Tuloom.—Rancho of Tancah.—Molas.—- 
His two Sons.—Visit to the Ruins of Tuloom.—Buildings seen 
on the Way. — Magnificent Scenery.—The Castillo.—Front 
View.—Grand Staircase. — Columns. — Corridors.—The Red 
Hand.—The Wings of the Castillo, consisting of two Ranges. 
—Devices in Stucco.—Flat Roofs.—Back View of the Castillo. 
—A Storm.—Sudden Change of Feeling.—Ruined Buildings.—- 
Square Terrace.—Picturesque Sight.—Fragments of Tablets.— 
Isolated Building.-—Curious Figure.—Paintings.—Discovery of 
the City Wall.—Its good Preservation.—Gateways.—Watch 
towers.—Buildings.—Ceilings constructed on a new Principle. 
—Onslaught of Moschetoes eas - “ : Page fo 


xi CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


Discovery of a Building.—Two others.—Description of the first 
Building. —Ornaments in Stucco.—Columns.—Corridor.—Paint- 
ings.—Central Chamber.—Altar.—Upper Story.—Stone 'Tab- 
lets.— Another Building.—Mutilated Figure.—Apartments.—Al- 
tar.—A third Building.—This City seen by the early Spanish 
Voyagers.—Continued to be occupied after the Conquest.—Ad- 
oratorios.—Accounts of ruined Cities in the Interior.—Return 
Voyage.—Sea-sickness.—Nesuc. — Kancune. — Ruined Build- 
ings.—Island of Mugeres.—Sea-birds.—Appearance of the Isl- 
and.—A hideous Funeral Pile.—Ibises.—Lafitte.—Piratical As- 
sociations.—Confession of a Pirate.—Visit to the Ruins.—A 
lonely Edifice. — Grand Scene. — Corridors. — Inscriptions. — 
Square Building.—Account of Bernal Dias.—Departure from 
the Island.+—Catoche.—Yalahao.—Ancient Mound.—El Cuyo. 
—An old Acquaintance in Misfortune ‘ : . Page 401 


CHAPTER XXIIL 


Port of Silan.—Hospitality.—Breakfast.— Walk along the Shore. 
—Flamingoes.—Shooting Excursion to Punta Arenas.—Wild 
Road. — Take Possession of a Hut. — Great Variety and im- 
mense Numbers of Wild Fowl.—Get Stuck in the Mud.—Fila- 
mingoes and Spoonbills.—A ludicrous Adventure.—Dissection 
of Birds.—Return to the Port.—The Quartel.—A Catastrophe. 


—Departure.—Village of Silan.—Gigantic Mound.—View from 
its Top.—Another Mound.—Accounts of Herrera and Cogollu- 


do.—The Grave of Lafitte.—Hospitality of the Padres.—De- 
-. parture from Silan.—Temax.—Church and Convent.—Izamal. 
—Fiesta of Santa Cruz.—Appearance of the City.—Mounds.— 
Colossal Ornaments in Stucco.—Gigantic Head.—Stupendous 
Mound.—Interior Chambers.—Church and Convent.—Built on 
an ancient Mound.—A Legend.—A Ball . : % Te 419 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


Departure for Merida. — The Road.— Cacalchen.— Hacienda of 
Aké.—The Ruins.—Great Mound called the Palace.—Immense 
Staircase.—Grand Approach. —Columns.— No Remains of 2 
Building on the Mound.—Other Mounds.—Interior Chamber.— 


CONTENTS. XL 


A Senote.—Rude and Massive Character of these Ruins.—End 
of Journey among ruined Cities.— Number of Cities discovered. 
—Of the Builders of the American Cities.—Opinion.—Built by 
the Ancestors of the present Race of Indians.—Reply to Argu- 
ments urged against this Belief—Absence of Tradition.—Un- 
paralleled Circumstances which attended the Conquest.—Un- 
scrupulous Policy of the Spaniards.—Want of Tradition not 
confined to Events before the Conquest.—Nor peculiar to Amer- 
ican Ruins. — Degeneracy of the Indians.—Insufficiency of 
these Arguments.—Farewell to Ruins. ; . Page 440 


CHAPTER XXV. 


Departure.—Arrival at Merida.—Old Acquaintances.—Giraffes.— 


Aspect of the Political Horizon.—The great Question of the 
Revolution undecided.—Nomination of Deputies to the Mexican 
Congress.—Santa Ana’s Ultimatum.—Dissensions.— Pitiable 
Condition of the State.—Cause of the Convulsions of the South- 
ern Republics.—State Rights.—Preparations for Departure from 
the Country.—Invasion of Yucatan.—Parting with Friends.— 
Embarcation for Havana.— Arrival there.—A Paseo.—-The 
Tomb of Columbus.—Passage Home.—Conclusion ABE 


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ENGRAVINGS. VOL IL 


1. FRONTISPIECE. Page. 
2. Front of the Casa Grande at Zayi . ° . ° ° 17 
3. Fagade of the farthest Building at Zayi . .e ata 20 
4 Ground Plan of the Casa Grande . ° ° ° : 22 
5. Terrace and Building . : : . ° ° ° . 25 
6. Terrace and Building . 4 A : ° ° ° 5 27 
7. Ruined Building . ; . : ‘ ° ° ° . 37 
8. Building at Sabachshé : : *acute Naas renee © 
9. Building at Sabachshé . ° . . 44 
10. Pyramidal Mound and Building a Labna Pic ore SOO 
11. Arched Gateway : ‘ é . : ° ° 2 54 
12. Interior Front of Gateway . : ; : . . ‘ 55 
13. Portion of a Fagade . . 3 . ° . . . 56 
14. Casa Real of Kewick . s . e ° - Neat! bar 68 
15. Doorway at Kewick . . ° : ° ° ° . 72 
16. Curious Painting . ° . ° ° Serre . 74 
17. Front of a Building . . : ee ° ° . 76 
18. Building at Sacbey . ° ° ° + recs, ~ 122 
19. Building at Xampon . . ° ° ° . ° - 124 


20. Building at Chunhuhu . ° ° e . . 1380 
21. A Doorway F : 5 . ° enrages ; . ‘181 
22. A Building. 4 ; . ° ° ° ° ° cr LOA 
23. A Building . ‘ M “ ° : ° ° : los 


24. Entrance to a Cave ES Bolonchen . ° ° ° . 147 
25. Principal Staircase in the Cave . ‘ F ° ° -* 148 
26. Section of the Cave . i : ° ° ° . - 150 
27. A grand Structure. . ° ° ° ° ° at Lif 
28. Ground Plan. ‘ : ° e : ° ° - 163 
29. Bas-reliefs . : ‘ - ° ° ° ° ° - 164 
30. Building at Zibilnocac . ° ° . ° . - 188 
31. An Aguada ‘ = . ° ° . ° ° - *. 209 
32. Building at Macoba . “ s ° é . ‘ - 218 
33. An Aguada < , ‘ ° ° ° ° ° © = =225 
34. System of Aguadas . ; ° ° ° ° . wan eee 
35. MapofMani . r ° . ° e ° . ~ 265 


XVI 


36. 
37. 
38. 
39. 
40. 
41. 
42. 
43. 


45. 
46. 
47, 
48. 
49. 
50. 
51. 
52. 
53. 
54. 
55. 
56. 
57. 
58. 
59. 
60. 
61. 
62. 
63. 
64. 
65. 
66. 
67. 
68. 
69. 
70. 


ENGRAVINGS. VOL. 


Senote at Chichen . : . . ° 
The Akatzeéb ab O° BEF RE VA BL 
Sculptured Stone Tablet . : ° ° 
End Fagade of the Monjas . ° . . 
Front of the Monjas . 4 . a . 
The Eglesia, or Church . ° ° . 
The Caracol, a Circular Edifice . : . 
The Casa Colorada : ‘ 7 . . 


. Hieroglyphics . . F . * . 


Picturesque View. : ‘ . ° 
Gymnasium, or Tennis Court . A . 
Sculptured Entwined Serpents . : ° 


An Edifice . : ; : : Pi , 
Figures in Bas-relief . ‘ : . 
Paintings . a “ ‘ ; : ° 


The Castillo 
Staircase, with colossal Serpents’ Heads 


Sculptured Figure. . . ° , 
An Apartment . $ : ‘ . 
Rows of Columns and Castillo , N A 
Port of Yalahao . ; : . x 

Island of Cozumel - 3 : i 
Square Building . ; ‘ 
Front View of the Castillo of rhliend we 


Back View of the Castillo . . : . 
An isolated Edifice . : “ ° ° 
Plan of the City Wall . : ‘ ° . 
A Watch-tower . : “ ° ° ° 
A Building. < < . ‘ ° . 
A Building. : : : ° ° ° 
An Adoratorio . 4 s x . ° 


) A lonely Edifice . ° ° e ° ° 


Immense Mound ¢ : . 4 ‘ 
Gigantic Head... ; ee a 
Mound called El Palacio . ‘ = 


II. 


Page, 
287 
291 
292 
293 
294 
296 
298 
300 
301 
302 
303 
304 
308 
309 
311 
312 
313 
314 
316 
319 
347 
363 
373 
390 
392 
393 
396 
397 
402 
403 
407 
408 
428 
434 
44] 


INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL 


IN 


YUCATAN. 


CHAPTER I. 


Departure from Nohcacab.—Outfit.—Rancho of Chack.—Frign 
of the Women.—Rancho of Schawill.—Casa Real.—Scarcity 
of Water.—Visit from the Alcalde.—Primitive Mode of obtain- 
ing Water.—A peculiar People.—Ruins of Zayi.—Great tree- 
covered Mound.—The Casa Grande.—Fortunate Discovery.— 
Staircase.—Doorways, &c.—Buildings on the second Terrace 
-—Doorways.—Curiously ornamented Columns.—Building on 
the third Terrace.—Doorways, Apartments, &c.—Stone Lin- 
tels.—Facade of the second Range of Buildings.—Ground Plan 
of the three Ranges.—The Casa Cerrada.—Doorways filled up 
inside with Stone and Mortar.—Finished Apartments, also filled 
up.—This filling up simultaneous with the Erection of the Build- 
ing.—A Mound.—Ruined Building.— Its Interior.— Sculptured 
Head, &c.—A strange Structure.—An Archway.—Perpendicu- 
lar Wall.—Stuccoed Figures and Ornaments.—Great Terrace 
and Building.—Apartments, &c.—Want of Interest manifested 
by the Indians in regard to these Ruins. 


On the twenty-fourth of January we left Nohca- 
cab. It was a great relief to bid farewell to this 
place, and the only regret attending our departure 
was the reflection that we should be obliged to re- 
turn. The kindness and attentions of the padreci- 
to and his brother, and, indeed, of all the villagers, 
had been unremitted, but the fatigue of riding twelve 
miles every day over the same ground, and the diffi- 


culty of procuring Indians to work, were a constant 
Vor. I.—B 


LO INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


source of annoyance; besides which, we had a feel 
ing that operated during the whole of our journey : 
wherever we were taken ill we became disgusted 
with the place, and were anxious to leave it. 

We were setting out on a tour which, according 
to the plan laid out, embraced a circuit of ruins, and 
required us to revisit Nohcacab, although our return 
would be only to make it a point of departure in 
another direction. 

In consequence of this plan we left behind all 
our heavy luggage, and carried with us only the Da- 
guerreotype apparatus, hammocks, one large box con- 
taining our tin table service, a candlestick, bread, 
chocolate, coffee, and sugar, and a few changes. of 
clothing in pestaquillas. Besides Albino and Ber- 
naldo we had a puny lad of about fifteen, named 
Barnaby, a much smaller pattern than either of the 
others, and all three together were hardly equal in 
bulk to one fairly developed man. 

We were all provided with good horses for the 
road. Mr. Catherwood had one on which he could 
make a sketch without dismounting; Dr. Cabot could 
shoot from the back of his. Mine could, on an 
emergency, be pushed into a hard day’s journey for 
a preliminary visit. Albino rode a hard-mouthed, 
wilful beast, which shook him constantly like a fit 
of the fever and ague, and which we distinguished 
by the name of the trotter. Bernaldo asked for a 
horse, because Albino had one, but, instead of riding, 
he had to put a strap across his forehead and carry 
his own luggage on his back. 


RANCHO OF CHACK. 11 


We were about entering a region little or not at 
all frequented by white men, and gccupied entirely 
by Indians. Our road lay through the ruins of Ka- 
bah, a league beyond which we reached the rancho 
of Chack. This was a large habitation of Indians, 
under the jurisdiction of the village of Nohcacab. 
There was not a white man in the place, and as we 
rode through, the women snatched up their children, 
and ran from us like startled deer. I rode up to a 
hut into which I saw a woman enter, and, stopping 
at the fence, merely from curiosity, took out a ci- 
gar, and, making use of some of the few Maya words 
we had picked up, asked for a light, but the door re- 
mained shut. I dismounted, and before I had tied 
my horse the women rushed out and disappeared 
among the bushes. In one part of the rancho was 
a casa real, being a long thatched hut with a large 
square before it, protected by an arbour of leaves, and 
on one side was a magnificent seybo tree, throwing 
its shade to a great distance round. 

On leaving this rancho we saw at a distance on 
the left a high ruined building standing alone amid 
a great intervening growth of woods, and apparent- 
ly inaccessible. Beyond, and at the distance of four 
leagues from Nohcacab, we reached the rancho of 
Schawill, which was our first stopping-place, on ac- 
count of the ruius of Zayi in its immediate neigh- 
bourhood. This place also was inhabited exclusive- 
ly by Indians, rancho being the name given to a 
settlement not of sufficient importance to constitute 


12 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


a village. ‘The casa real, like that at Chack, was a 
large hut, with mud walls and a thatched roof. It 
hade an open place in front about a hundred feet 
square, enclosed by a fence made of poles, and sha- 
ded by an arbour of palm leaves. Around the hut 
were large seybo trees. ‘The casa real is erected in 
every rancho of Indians expressly for the reception 
of the cura on his occasional or perhaps barely pos- 
sible visits, but it is occupied also by small dealers 
from the villages, who sometimes find their way to 
these ranchos to buy up hogs, maize, and fowls. 
The hut, when swept out, and comparatively clear 
of fleas, made a large and comfortable apartment, 
and furnished ample swinging room for six ham- 
mocks, being the number requisite for our whole ret- 
inue. 

This place was under the parochial charge of 
our friend the cura of Ticul, who, however, owing 
to the multiplicity of his other occupations, had vis- 
ited it but once. ‘The padrecito had sent notice 
of our coming, and had charged the people to be in 
readiness to receive us. Immediately on our arri- 
val, therefore, Indians were at hand to procure ra- 
mon for the horses, but there was no water. The 
“ancho had no well, and was entirely dependant on 
that of Chack, three miles distant. For two reals, 
however, the Indians undertook to procure us four 
santaros, one for each horse, which would serve fcr 
the night. Inthe evening we had a formal visit from 
the alcalde and his alguazils, and half the village be- 
sides. 


MODE OF OBTAINING WATER. 13 


Although we had been some time in the country, 
we regarded this as really the beginning of our travels; 
and though the scenes we had met with already were 
not much like any we had ever encountered before, 
our first day’s journey introduced us to some that 
were entirely new. ‘The Indians assembled under 
the arbour, where they, with great formality, offered 
us seats, and the alcalde told us that the rancho was 
poor, but they would do all they could to serve us. 
Neither he nor any other in the place spoke a word 
of Spanish, and our communications were through 
Albino. We opened the interview by remonstra- 
ting against the charge of two reals for watering our 
horses, but the excuse was satisfactory enough. In 
the rainy season they had sources of supply in the 
neighbourhood, and these were perhaps as primitive 
as in any other section of the habitable world, being 
simply deposites of rain-water in the holes and hol- 
lows of rocks, which were called sartenejas. Irom 
the rocky nature of the country, these are very nu- 
merous ; during the rainy season they are replenish- 
ed as fast as they are exhausted, and at the time of 
our visit, owing to the long continuance of the rains, 
they furnished a sufficient supply for domestic use, 
but the people were not able to keep horses or cows, 
or cattle of any kind, the only animals they had 
being hogs. In the dry season this source of sup- 
ply failed them; the holes in the rocks were dry, and 
they were obliged to send to the rancho of Chack, 


the well of which they represented as being half a 
I] 2 


14 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


mile under ground, and so steep that it was reached 
only by descending nine different staircases. 

This account saved them from all imputation of 
churlishness in not giving our horses water. It 
seemed strange that any community should be will- 
ing to live where this article of primary necessity 
was so difficult to be obtained, and we asked them 
why they did not break up their settlement and go 
elsewhere; but this idea seemed never to have oc- 
curred to them; they said their fathers had lived 
there before them, and the land around was good 
for milpas. In fact, they were a peculiar people, 
and I never before regretted so much my ignorance 
of the Maya language. They are under the civil 
jurisdiction of the village of Nohcacab, but the right 
of soil is their own by inheritance. They consider 
themselves better off than in the villages, where the 
people are subject to certain municipal regulations 
and duties, or than on the haciendas, where they 
would be under the control of masters. 

Their community consists of a hundred labra- 
dores, or working men; their lands are held and 
wrought in common, and the products are shared by 
all. Their food is prepared at one hut, and every 
family sends for its portion, which explained a sin- 
gular spectacle we had seen on our arrival; a pro- 
cession of women and children, each carrying an 
earthen bowl containing a quantity of smoking hot 
broth, all coming down the same road, and disper- 
sing among the different huts. Every member be- 


A PECULIAR PEOPLE. TD 


longing to the community, down to the smallest 
pappoose, contributed in turn a hog. From our ig 
norance of the language, and the number of other 
and more pressing matters claiming our attention, 
we could not learn all the details of their internal 
economy, but it seemed to approximate that im- 
proved state of association which is sometimes 
heard of among us; and as theirs has existed for an 
unknown length of time, and can no longer be 
considered merely experimental, Owen or Fourier 
might perhaps take lessons from them with advan- 
tage. 

They differ from professed reformers in one im- 
portant particular—they seek no converts. No 
stranger is allowed, upon any consideration, to enter 
their community ; every member must marry within 
the rancho, and no such thing as a marriage out of 
it had ever occurred. ‘They said it was impossible ; 
it could not happen. ‘They were in the habit of 
going to the villages to attend the festivals; and 
when we suggested a supposable case of a young 
man or woman falling in love with some village In- 
dian, they said it might happen; there was no law 
against it; but none could marry out of the rancho. 
This was a thing so little apprehended that the 
punishment for it was not defined in their penal 
code ; but being questioned, after some consultation 
they said that the offender, whether man or woman, 
would be expelled. We remarked that in their 
small community constant intermarriages must make 


16 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


them ‘all relatives, which they said was the case 
since the reduction of their numbers by the cholera. 
They were, in fact, all kinsfolk, but it was allow- 
able for kinsfolk to marry except in the relationship 
of brothers and sisters. ‘They were very strict in at- 
tendance upon the ceremonies of the Church, and 
had just finished the celebration of the carnival two 
weeks in advance of the regular time; but when 
we corrected their chronology, they said they could 
celebrate it over again. 

Early in the morning we set out for the ruins of 
Zayi, or Salli. At a short distance from the rancho 
we saw in an overgrown milpa on our left the ruins 
of a mound and building, so far destroyed that they 
are not worth presenting. 

After proceeding a mile and a half we saw at 
some distance before us a great tree-covered mound, 
which astonished us by its vast dimensions, and, 
but, for our Indian assistants, would have frightened 
us by the size of the trees growing upon it. The 
woods commenced from the roadside. Our guides 
cut a path, and, clearing the branches overhead, 
we followed on horseback, dismounting at the foot 
of the Casa Grande. It was by this name that the 
Indians called the immense pile of white stone build- 
ings, which, buried in the depths of a great forest, 
added new desolation to the waste by which they 
were surrounded. We tied our horses, and worked 
our way along the front. The trees were so close 
that we could take in but a small portion of it at 


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RUINS OF ZAYI—CASA GRANDE. }7 


once. If we had encountered these woods at Ka- 
bah, where we had such difficulties in procuring In- 
dians, we should have despaired of being able to ac- 
complish anything, but, fortunately so far, where our 
labours were great we had at hand the means of 
performing them. 

We were at no loss what to do, our great object 
now being to economize time. Without waiting to 
explore the rest of the ground, we set the Indians at 
work, and in a few minutes the stillness of ages was 
broken by the sharp ringing of the axe and the 
crash of falling trees. With a strong force of Indians, 
we were able, in the course of the day, to lay bare 
the whole of the front. 

Dr. Cabot did not arrive on the ground till late in 
the day, and, coming upon it suddenly from the 
woods, when there were no trees to obstruct the 
view, and its three great ranges and immense pro 
portions were visible at once, considered it the grand- 
est spectacle he had seen in the country. 

The plate opposite represents the front of this 
building. ‘The view was taken from a mound, at 
the distance of about five hundred feet, overgrown 
and having upon it a ruined edifice. In clearing 
away the trees and undergrowth to this mound we 
discovered a pila, or stone, hollowed out, and filled 
with rain-water, which was a great acquisition to 
us while working at these ruins. 

The plate represents so much of the building as 
now remains and can be presented in a drawing 


Vou. IT —C 


18 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL / 


It has three stories or ranges, and in the centre is a 
grand staircase thirty-two feet wide, rising to the 
platform of the highest terrace. ‘This staircase, 
however, is in a ruinous condition, and, in fact, a 
mere mound, and all that-part of the building on the — 
right had fallen, and was so dilapidated that no in- 
telligible drawing could be made of it; we did not 
even clear away the trees. The engraving repre- 
sents all that part which remains, being the half of 
the building on the left of the staircase. 

The lowest of the three ranges is two hundred 
‘and sixty-five feet in front and one hundred and 
twenty in depth. It had sixteen doorways, opening 
into apartments of two chambers each. ‘The whole 
front wall has fallen; the interiors are filled with 
fragments and rubbish, and the ground in front was 
so encumbered with the branches of fallen trees, even 
after they had been chopped into pieces and beaten 
down with poles, that, at the distance necessary for 
making a drawing, but a small portion of the inte- 
rior could be seen. ‘The two ends of this range 
have each six doorways, and the rear has ten, all 
opening into apartments, but in general they are in 
a ruinous condition. 

The range of buildings on the second terrace was 
two hundred and twenty feet in length and sixty 
feet in depth, and had four doorways on each side 
of the grand staircase. Those on the left, which 
are all that remain, have two columns in each door- 
way, each column being six feet six inches high, 





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TERRACES AND BUILDINGS. Oe 


roughly made, with square capitals, like Doric, but 
wanting the grandeur pertaining to all known re- 
mains of this ancient order. Filling up the spaces 
between the doorways are four small columns cu- 
riously ornamented, close together, and stink in the 
wall. Between the first and second and third and 
fourth doorways a small staircase leads to the ter- 
race of the third range. ‘The platform of this ter- 
race is thirty feet in front and twenty-five in the rear. 
The building is one hundred and fifty feet long by 
eighteen feet deep, and has seven doorways opening 
into as many apartments. The lintels over the door- 
ways are of stone. 

The exterior of the third and highest range was 
plain ; that of the two other ranges had been elab- 
orately ornamented ; and, in order to give some idea 
of their character, | present opposite a portion of 
the facade of the second range. Among designs 
common in other places is the figure of a man sup- 
porting himself on his hands, with his legs expand- 
ed in a curious rather than delicate attitude, of which 
a small portion appears on the right of the engra- 
ving ; and again we have the “large and very well 
constructed buildings of lime and stone” which 
Bernal Dias saw at Campeachy, “with figures of 
serpents and of idols painted on the walls.” 

The following engraving represents the ground 
plan of the three ranges, and gives the dimensions of 
the terraces. The platforms are wider in front than 
in the rear; the apartments vary from twenty-three to 


Y/ INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 











Seale of Heet. 
60 49.20 20 10 “0 





ten feet, and the north side of the second range has 
a curious and unaccountable feature. It is called the 
Casa Cerrada, or closed house, having ten door- 
ways, all of which are blocked up inside with stone 
and mortar. Like the well at Xcoch, it had a mys- 
terious reputation in the village of Nohcacab, and 
all believed that it contained hidden treasure. In- 
deed; so strong was this belief, that the alcalde Se- 
gundo, who had never visited these ruins, resolved 
to take advantage of our presence ; and, according 
to agreement in the village, came down with crow- 
bars to assist us in breaking into the closed apart- 
ments and discovering the precious hoard. The 
first sight of these closed-up doorways gave us 
a strong desire to make the attempt; but on mo- 
ving along we found that the Indians had been 
beforehand with us. In front of several were 
piles of stones, which they had worked out from 
the doorways, and under the lintels were holes, 
through which we were able to crawl inside; and 


THE CASA SERRADA. 23 


here we found ourselves in apartments finished 
with walls and ceilings like all the others, but filled 
up (except so far as they had been emptied by 
the Indians) with solid masses of mortar and stone. 
There were ten of these apartments in all, 220 
feet long and ten feet deep, which being thus 
filled up, made the whole building a solid mass; 
and the strangest feature was that the filling up of 
the apartments must have been simultaneous with 
the erection of the buildings, for, as the filling-in 
rose above the tops of the doorways, the men who 
performed it never could have entered to their work 
through the doors. It must have been done as the 
walls were built, and the ceiling must. have closed 
over a solid mass. Why this was so constructed 
it was impossible to say, unless the solid mass was 
required for the support of the upper terrace and 
building ; and if this was the case, it would seem to 
have been much easier to erect a solid structure at 
once, without any division into apartments. 

The top of this building commanded a grand 
view, no longer of a dead plain, but of undulating 
woodlands. ‘Toward the northwest, crowning the 
highest hill, was a lofty mound, covered with trees, 
which, to our now practised eyes, it was manifest 
shrouded a building, either existing or in ruins. The 
whole intervening space was thick wood and under- 
brush, and the Indians said the mound. was inacces- 
sible. I selected three of the best, and told them 
that we must reach it; but they really did not know 


24 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


how to make the attempt, and set out on a contin- 
uation of the road by which we had reached the 
ruins, and which led us rather from than to the 
‘mound. On the way we met another Indian, who 
turned back with us, and a little beyond, taking his 
range, he cut through the woods to another path, fol- 
lowing which a short distance, he again struck 
through the woods, and, all cutting together, we 
reached the foot of a stony hill covered with the 
gigantic maguey, or Agave Americana, its long 
thorny points piercing and tearing all that touched 
them. Climbing up this hill with great toil, we 
reached the wall of a terrace, and, climbing this, 
found ourselves at the foot of the building. 

It was in a ruinous condition, and did not repay 
us for the labour; but over the door was a sculp- 
tured head with a face of good expression and work- 
manship. In one of the apartments was a high 
projection running along the wall; in another a 
raised platform about a foot high; and on the walls 
of this apartment was the print of the red hand. 
The doorway commanded an extensive view of 
rolling woodland, which, with its livery of deep 
green, ought to have conveyed a sensation of glad- 
ness, but, perhaps from its desolation and stillness, it 
induced rather a feeling of melancholy. There was 
but one opening in the forest, being that made by 
us, disclosing the Casa Grande, with the figures of a 
few Indians still continuing their clearings on the 


top. 


REMARKABLE STRUCTURE. 25 


In front of the Casa Grande, at the distance of 
five hundred yards, and also visible from the top, is 
another structure, strikingly different from any we 
had seen, more strange and inexplicable, and having 
at a distance the appearance of a New-England fac- 
tory. | 

The engraving which follows represents this build- 


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ing. It stands ona terrace, and may be considered 
as consisting of two separate structures, one above 
the other. ‘T’he lower one, in its general features, 
resembled all the rest. It was forty feet front, low, 
and having a flat roof, and in the centre was an 


Vou. L:—D 3 


26 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


archway running through the building. ‘T’he front 
is fallen, and the whole so ruined that nothing 
but the archway appears in the engraving. Along 
the middle of the roof, unsupported, and entirely 
independent of everything else, rises a perpendic- 
ular wall to the height of perhaps thirty feet. I: 
is of stone, about two feet thick, and has oblong 
openings through it about four feet long and six 
inches wide, like small windows. It had been cov- 
ered with stucco, which had fallen off, and left the 
face of rough stone and mortar; and on the other 
side were fragments of stuccoed figures and orna- 
ments. An Indian appears before it in the act of 
killing a snake, with which all the woods of Yuca- 
tan abound. Since we began our exploration of 
American ruins we had not met with anything more 
inexplicable than this great perpendicular wall. It 
seemed built merely to puzzle posterity. 

These were the only buildings in this immediate 
neighbourhood which had survived the wasting of 
the elements; but, inquiring among the Indians, one 
of then undertook to guide me to another, which he 
said was still in good preservation. Our direction 
was south-southwest from the Casa Grande; and at 
the distance of about a mile, the whole intermediate 
region being desolate and overgrown, we reached a 
terrace, the area of which far exceeded anything we 
had seen inthe country. We crossed it from north 
to south, and in this direction it must have been fi 
teen hundred feet in length, and probably was quite 





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GREAT TERRACE AND BUILDING. a7. 


as much in the other direction; but it was so rough, 
broken, and overgrown, that we did not attempt to 
measure it. 

On this great platform was the building of which 
the Indian had told us; J had it cleared, and Mr. 
Catherwood drew it the next day, as it appears in 
the engraving opposite. It measures one hundred 
and seventeen feet in front, and eighty-four fect 
deep, and contains sixteen apartments, of which 
those in front, five in number, are best preserved. 
That in the centre has three doorways. It is twen- 
ty-seven feet six inches long, by only seven feet six 
inches wide, and communicates by a single door- 
way with a back room eighteen feet long and five 
feet six inches wide. ‘This room is raised two feet 
six inches above the one in front, and has steps to 
ascend. Along the bottom of the front room, as 
high as the sill of the door, is a row of small col- 
umns, thirty-eight in number, attached to the wall. 

In several places the great platform is strewed 
with ruins, and probably other buildings lie buried in 
the woods, but without guides or any clew whatev- 
er, we did not attempt to look for them. 

Such, so far as we were able to discover them, 
are the ruins of Zayi, the name of which, to the 
time of our visit, had never been uttered among civ- 
ilized men, and, but for the notoriety connected with 
our movements, would probably be unknown at this 
day in the capital of Yucatan. Our first accounts 
of them were from the cura Carillo, who, on the 


28 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


occasion of his only visit to this part of his curacy, 
passed a great portion of his.time among them. 

It was strange and almost incredible that, with 
these extraordinary monuments before their eyes, 
the Indians never bestowed upon them one passing 
thought. ‘The question, who built them? never by 
any accident crossed their minds. ‘The great name 
of Montezuma, which had gone beyond them to the 
Indians of Honduras, had never reached their ears, 
and to all our questions we received the same dull 
answer which first met us at Copan, “ Quien sabe ?” 
“ Who knows?” ‘They had the same superstitious 
feelings as the Indians of Uxmal; they believed 
that the ancient buildings were haunted, and, as in 
the remote region of Santa Cruz del Quiché, they 
said that on Good Friday of every year music was 
heard sounding among the ruins. 

There was but one thing connected with the old 
city that interested them at all, and that was the 
subject of a well. ‘They supposed that somewhere 
among these ruins, overgrown and lost, existed the 
fountain which had supplied the ancient inhabitants 
with water; and, believing that by the use of our 
instruments its site could be discovered, they offered 
to cut down all the trees throughout the whole re- 
gion covered by the ruins. 


A FIELD OF TAH. 29 


CHAPTER IL. 


Visit to a ruined Building near Chack.—A Field of Taje—Descrip- 
tion of the Building.—Hornet’s Nest—Young Vulture.—Pictu- 
resque View from the Terrace.—-Well of Chack.—Exploration 
of its Passages.—Return to the Rancho.—Departure from Scha- 
will.—The Camino Real.—Rancho of Sennacté.— Wild Appear- 
ance of the Indians.—Continued Scarcity of Water.—Another 
ruined City.—Two ruined Buildings.—Apartments, Columns, 
&c.—High Wall.—Joumey continued.—Rancho of Sabachshé. 
—Casa Real.—Well.—Hut of the Alcalde.—The Sefiora.—Ruins 
of Sabachshé.—Picturesque Edifice.—Alacrity of the Indians.— 
Facade.—Pilasters, Cornices, &c.—Encounter with an Iguana.— 
Another Ruined Building. — The Agave Americana. — More 
Ruins.—The Red Hand.—The Red Hand used as a Symbol by 
the North American Indians.—Conclusions to be deduced from 
this Circumstance.—Delicate Manner of doing a Service. 


Tue next morning, while Mr. Catherwood was 
engaged in drawing the building represented in the 
last engraving, Dr. Cabot and myself set out to visit 
the one which we had passed in coming from the 
rancho of Chack. 

In the suburbs of the rancho we turned off to the 
right by a path, which we followed for some distance 
on horseback, when it changed its direction, and 
we dismounted. [rom this.place our guides cut a 
path through the woods, and we came out upon a 
large field of taje, being long stems growing close 
together, eight or ten feet high, straight, and about 
half an inch thick, having a yellow flower on the 


30 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


top, which is a favourite food for horses. ‘The stems, 
tied up in bundles three or four inches thick, are 
used for torches. On one side of this field we saw 
the high building before referred to, and on the oth- 
er side was a second not visible before. A bird 
which the doctor wished to procure lighted on a 
tree growing upon the latter, and we went to it, but 
found nothing of particular interest, and struck 
across the field of taje for the former. ‘This taje - 
was as bad as the woods to walk through, for it 
grew so high as to exclude every breath of air, and 
was not high enough to be any protection against 
the sun. 

The building stood on the top of a stony hill, on 
a terrace still firm and substantial. It consisted of 
two stories, the roof of the lower one forming the 
platform in front of the upper, and had a staircase, 
which was broken and ruined. The upper build- 
ing had a large apartment in the centre, and a small- 
er one on each side, much encumbered with rub- 
bish, from one of which we were driven by a hor- 
net’s nest, and in another a young vulture, with a 
hissing noise, flapped its plumeless wings and hop- 
ped out of the door. 

‘The terrace commanded a picturesque view of 
wooded hills, and at a distance the Casa Grande, and 
the high wall before presented. They were per- 
haps three or four miles distant. All the interme- 
diate space was overgrown. ‘The Indians had tray- 
ersed it in all directions in the dry season, when 


’ 


THE WELL OF CHACK. 31 


* 


there was no foliage to hide the view, and they said 
that in all this space there were no vestiges of build- 
ings. Close together as we had found the remains 
of ancient habitations, it seemed hardly possible that 
distinct and independent cities had existed with but 
such a little space between, and yet it was harder 
to imagine that one city had embraced within its 
limits these distant buildings, the extreme ones be- 
ing four miles apart, and that the whole intermedi- 
ate region of desolation had once swarmed with a 
teeming and active population. 

Leaving this, we toiled back to our horses, and, 
returning to the road, passed through the rancho, 
about a mile beyond which we reached the pozo, or 
well, the accounts of which we had heard on our 
first arrival. | 

Near the mouth were some noble seybo trees, 
throwing their great branches far and wide, under 
which groups of Indians were arranging their cala- 
bashes and torches, preparing to descend; others, 
just out, were wiping their sweating bodies. At 
one moment an Indian disappeared, and at the next 
another rose up out of the earth. We noticed that 
there were no women, who, throughout Yucatan, 
are the drawers of water, and always seen around a 
well, but we were told that no woman ever enters 
the well of Chack; all the water for the rancho 
was procured by the men, which alone indicated 
that the well was of an extraordinary character. 
We had brought with us a ball of twine, and made 


32 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


immediate preparations to descend, reducing our 
dress as near as possible to that of the Indians. 

Our first movement was down a hole by a per- 
pendicular ladder, at the foot of which we were fair- 
ly entered into a great cavern. Our guides prece- 
ded us with bundles of taje lighted for torches, and 
we came to a second descent almost perpendicular, 
which we achieved by a ladder laid flat against the 
rock. Beyond this we moved on a short distance, 
still following our guides, and still descending, when 
we saw their torches disappearing, and reached a 
wild hole, which also we descended by a long rough 
ladder. At the foot of this the rock was damp and 
slippery, and there was barely room enough to pass 
around it, and get upon another ladder down the 
same hole, now more contracted, and so small that, 
with the arms akimbo, the elbows almost touched 
on each side. At this time our Indians were out of 
sight; and in total darkness, feeling our way by the 
rounds of the ladder, we cried out to them, and were 
answered by distant voices directly underneath. 
Looking down, we saw their torches like moving 
balls of fire, apparently at an interminable distance 
below us. 

At the foot of this ladder there was a rude plat- 
form as a resting-place, made to enable those as- 
cending and descending to pass each other. A 
group of naked Indians, panting and sweating un- 
der the load of their calabashes, were waiting till 
we vacated the ladder above; and even in this wild 


DESCENT INTO THE WELL. 33 


hole, with loads on their backs, straps binding 
their foreheads, and panting from fatigue and heat, 
they held down their torches, and rendered obei- 
sance to the blood of the white man. Descending 
the next ladder, both above and below us were 
torches gleaming in the darkness. We had still an- 
other ladder to descend, and the whole perpendicu- 
lar depth of this hole was perhaps two hundred feet. 

From the foot of this ladder there was an open- 
ing to the right, and from it we soon entered a low, 
narrow passage, through which we crawled on our 
hands and knees. With the-toil and the smoke of 
the torches the heat was almost beyond endurance. 
The passage enlarged and again contracted, de- 
scending steeply, and so low that the shoulders al- 
most touched the roof. This opened upon a great 
chasm at one side, and beyond we came to another 
perpendicular hole, which we descended by steps 
cut in the rock. From this there was another low, 
crawling passage, and, almost stifled with heat and 
smoke, we came out into a small opening, in, which 
was a basin of water, being the well. The place 
was crowded with Indians filling their calabashes, 
and they started at the sight of our smoky white fa- 
ces as if El] Demonio had descended among them. 
It was, doubtless, the first time that the feet of a 
white’ man had ever reached this well. 

On returning we measured the distance, Doctor 
Cabot going before with a line of about a hun- 
dred feet, in the wild and broken passages being 


Vou. IL—E 


o4 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


soon out of sight, and sometimes out of hearing. I 
followed, with an Indian winding up the line, while 
[ made notes. I had two Indians with long bun- 
dles of lighted sticks, who, whenever I stopped to 
write, either held them so far off as to be of no use, 
or else thrust them into my face, blinding the eyes 
with smoke and scorching the skin. I was dripping 
as if in a vapour-bath; my face and hands were 
black with smoke and incrusted with dirt; large 
drops of sweat fell upon my book, which, with the 
dirt from my hands, matted the leaves together, so 
that my notes are almost useless. They were, no 
doubt, imperfect, but I do not believe that, with the 
most accurate details, it is possible to convey a true 
idea of the character of this cave, with its deep 
holes and passages through a bed of solid rock, and 
the strange scene presented by the Indians, with 
torches and calabashes, unmurmuring and uncom 
plaining, at their daily task of seeking, deep in the 
bowels of the earth, one of the great elements of 
life. | | 
The distance, as we traversed it, with its ladders, 
ascents and descents, winding and crawling passa- 
ces, seemed a full half league, as represented by the 
Indians. By measurement it was not quite fifteen 
hundred feet, which is about equal to the length of 
the Park fronting on Broadway. ~The perpehndicu- 
lar depth to the water I am not able to give, but 
some idea may be formed of these passages from 
the fact that the Indians did not carry their cala 


IMPORTANCE OF THIS WELL. 35 


bashes on their shoulders, because, with the body 
bent, they would strike against the roof or roll over 
the head; but the straps across the forehead were 
let out so long that the calabashes rested below the 
hips, and in. crawling on the hands and feet their 
loads did not rise above the line of the back. 

And this well was not, as at Xcoch, the occasional 
resort of a straggling Indian, nor the mere traditionary 
watering-place of an ancient city. It was the regular 
and only supply of a living population. ‘The whole 
rancho of Chack was entirely dependant upon it, 
and in the dry season the rancho of Schawill, three 
miles distant. 

The patient industry of such a people may well 
be supposed to have reared the immense mounds 
and the great stone structures scattered all over the 
country. We consumed a calabash of water in 
washing and quenching our thirst, and as we rode 
back to the rancho of Schawill, came to the conclu- 
sion that an admission into the community of this 
exclusive people was no great privilege, when it 
would entail upon the applicant, for six months in 
the year, a daily descent into this subterraneous well. 

We arrived at the rancho in good season. Mr. 
Catherwood had finished his drawing, and Bernaldo 
was ready with his dinner. We had nothing to de- 
tain us, ordered carriers forthwith for our luggage, 
and at half past two we were in the saddle again in 
search of ruined cities. 

The reader has some idea of the caminos reales 


36 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


of this country, and they were all like English turn- 
pikes compared with that upon which we entered on 
leaving this rancho. In fact, it was a mere path 
through the woods, the branches of the trees being 
trimmed away to a height barely sufficient to admit 
of an Indian passing under with a load of maize 
on his back. We were advised that it would be 
very difficult to get through on horseback, and were 
obliged to keep dodging the head and bending the 
body to avoid the branches, and at times we were 
brought to a stand by some overhanging arm of a 
tree, and obliged to dismount. 

At the distance of two leagues we reached the 
rancho of Sannacté, the Indians of which were the 
wildest people in appearance we had yet seen. As 
we rode through, the women ran away and hid 
themselves, and the men crouched on the ground 
bareheaded, with long black hair hanging over their 
eyes, gazing at us in stupid astonishment. The 
same scarcity of water still continued. The ran- 
cho was entirely destitute ; it had no pozo or well of 
any kind, either ancient or modern, and the inhabi- 
tants procured their whole supply from the village of 
Sabachshé, two leagues, or six miles, distant! This 
supply, too, was brought daily on the backs of In- 
dians ; but again in this arid and destitute region 
was still another evidence of ancient population— 
another desolate and ruined city. 

Beyond the outskirts of the rancho was a lates 
clearing for a milpa, within which, naked and ex- 


RUINED BUILDING. 37 


posed to full view, were two ancient buildings. The 
milpa was enclosed by a fence, and- was overgrown 
with taje. We tied our horses to the stems of the 
taje, and, leaving them eating the flowers, followed a 
path which led between the two buildings. The 
engraving which follows represents the one on the 






















































































































































































































































bea “i Dive sig 
ee ee ; He: Cl 
esa eee i rid 
left. It stands on a terrace, still strong and sub- 
stantial, and, fortunately, clear of trees, though many 
were growing on the top. It has five apartments ; 
the facade above the cornice is fallen, and between 
the doorways are fragments of small columns set in 


the wall. On the other side of the milpa was an- 
IT 4. | ; 


38 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


other edifice, holding aloft a high wall, like that we 
had seen at Zayi, extraordinary in its appearance 
and incomprehensible in its uses and purposes. 
From the tact and facility we had now acquired, a 
short time sufficed for our examination of this place, 
and, with one more added to our list of ruined cit- 
ies, we mounted, and resumed our journey. 

At half past five we reached the rancho of Sa 
bachshé, lying on the camino real from Ticul to 
Bolonchen, and inhabited entirely by Indians. The 
casa real stood on an elevation in an open place; 
it was thatched with palm leaves, had mud walls, 
and an arbour before it, and a table and benches 
within. Altogether, it was better in appearance 
and furniture than the others we had encountered, 
which, as we afterward learned, was owing to 
the circumstance that, besides its regular ‘uses, it 
was intended for the residence of the mistress on 
her annual visits.to the rancho. But much more 
interesting and important was the fact, that this: 
rancho was distinguished by a well, the sight of 
which was more grateful to us than that of the 
best hotel to the traveller in a civilized country. 
We were scratched with thorns, and smarting with 
garrapata bites, and looked forward to the refresh- 
ment of a bath. Very soon our horses had the ben- | 
efit of it, the bath being in that country, where the 
currycomb and brush are entirely unknown, the only 
external refreshment these animals ever get. The 


HUT OF THE ALCALDE. 39 


well was built by the present owner, and formerly the 
inhabitants were dependant entirely upon the well 
at 'T'abi, six miles distant! Besides its real value, it 
_ presented a curious and lively spectacle. A group 
of Indian women was around it. It had no rope 
or fixtures of any kind for raising water, but across 
the mouth was a round beam laid upon two posts, 
over which the women were letting down and hoist- 
ing up little bark buckets. Every woman brought 
with her and carried away her own bucket and rope, 
the latter coiled up and laid on the top of her head, 
with the end hanging down behind, and the coil 
forming a sort of headdress. 

Near the well was the hut of the alcalde, en- 
closed by a rude fence, and within were dogs, hogs, 
turkeys, and fowls, which all barked, grunted, gob- 
bled, and cackled together as we entered. The yard 
was shaded by orange-trees loaded with ripe and 
unusually large fruit. Under one of them was a 
row of twenty or thirty wild boars’ jaws and tusks, 
trophies of the chase, and memorials attesting the 
usefulness of the barking dogs. The noise brought 
the alcalde to the door, a heavy and infirm old man, 
apparently rich, and suffering from the high living 
indicated by his hogs. and poultry ; but he received 
us with meekness and humility. We negotiated 
forthwith for the purchase of some oranges, and 
bought thirty for a medio, stipulating that they should 
all be the largest and best on the trees; after which, 


40) INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


supporting himself by his cane, he hobbled on to the 
casa real, had it swept out, and assigned Indians to 
attend upon us. If he wanted alacrity himself, he 
infused it into his people, and made up for all defi- 
ciencies by unqualified personal deference and re- 
spect. It was a fine evening, and we spread our 
supper-table under the arbour. ‘The old alcalde re- 
mained with us, and a group of Indians sat on the 
steps, not like the proud and independent race of 
Schawill, but acknowledging themselves criados, o1 
servants, bound to obey the orders of their mistress. 
La sefiora was, in their eyes, a miniature print of 
Queen Victoria, but skill in the use of figures may 
arrive at the value.of at least this part of her pos- 
sessions. ‘There were fifty-five labradores, or la- 
bouring men, under an obligation to plant and har- 
vest ten micates of maize for her benefit. Each 
micate produces ten cargas, or loads, making in all 
five hundred and fifty, which, at three reals per car 
ga, gives as the revenue this lady comes regularly to 
collect, about two hundred dollars per annum; but 
this gives more power than lands or money to any 
amount in our country could give; and the labra- 
dores being all free and independent electors, fifty- 
five votes could always be calculated upon in an 
emergency for the side of principle and la sefiora. 

Having made our arrangements for the next day; 
we went into the hut and shut the door. Some 
time afterward the old alcalde sent in to ask permis- 
sion to go home, as he was very sleepy, which we 


RUINS OF SABACHSHE. 41 


graciously granted, and, by his direction, three or 
four Indians swung their little hammocks under the 
arbour, to be at hand in case we should need any- 
thing. During the night we found it extr emely cold, 
and, with the little covering we had brought, could 
hardly keep ourselves comfortable. 

Early in the morning we found a large gather- 
ing round the house to escort us to the ruins. In 
the suburbs of the rancho we turned off to the left, 
and passed among the huts of the Indians, almost 
smothered by weeds, and having at the doors rude 
boxes of earth set up on posts, for vegetables to 
grow in out of the reach of the hogs. 

Crossing the fence of the last hut, we entered a 
thick growth of trees. As if instinctively, every In- 
dian drew his machete, and in a few minutes they 
cut a path to the foot of a small building, not rich 
in ornament, but tasteful, having some shades of dif- 
ference from any we had seen, overgrown by trees, 
and beautifully picturesque. On one corner of the 
roof a vulture had built her nest, and, scared away 
at our approach, hovered over our heads, looking 
down upon us as if amazed. We gave directions, 
all the Indians fell to work, and in a few minutes 
the small terrace in front was cleared. I had not 
expected so many Indians, and, not knowing what 
occasion I might have for their services, told them 
that I did not need so great a number, and should 
only pay those whom I had engaged. All stopped, 
and when the purport of my words was explained 


Vou. IL—F 


42 - INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


to them, said that made uo difference; they imme- 
diately set to work again, and the machete fell with 
a rapidity unparalleled in our experience. In half 
an hour space enough was cleared for Mr. Cather- 
wood to set-up his camera lucida. The same alert- 
ness was shown in preparing a place for him to 
stand in, and half a dozen stood ready to hold an 
umbrella for his protection against. the sun. | 

The plate opposite represents. the front of the 
building. Its design is tasteful and even elegant, 
and when perfect it must have presented a fine ap 
pearance. It has a single doorway, opening into a 
chamber twenty-five feet long by ten wide. Above 
the door is a portion of plain masonry, and over 
this a cornice supporting twelve small pilasters, hav- 
ing between them the diamond ornament, then a_ 
massive cornice, with pilasters and diamond work, 
surmounted by another cornice, making in all four 
cornices; an arrangement we had not previously 
met with. 

While Mr. Catherwood was making his drawing, 
the Indians stood around under the shade of the 
trees, looking at him quietly and respectfully, and 
making observations to each other. ‘They were a 
fine-looking race. Some of them, one tall old man 
particularly, had noble Roman faces, and they seemed 
to have more respectability of appearance and char- 
acter than was consistent with the condition of men 
not wearing pantaloons. All at once an enormous © 
iguana, or lizard, doubled the corner of the building, 


HH OS BHOVAVS 


b+ 
( 


‘ 














ENCOUNTER WITH AN IGUANA. 43 


ran along the front, and plunged into a crevice over 
the door, burying his whole body, but leaving the long 
tail out. Among these unsophisticated people this 
reptile is a table delicacy, and here was a supper pro- 
vided for some of them. Machetes flew out, and, cut- 
ting down a sapling with a crotch in it, they rested it 
against the wall, and, standing in the crotch, pulled 
upon the tail; but the animal held on with his feet 
as if a part of the building. All the Indians, one 
after the other, had a pull at the tail, but could not 
make him budge. At length two of them contrived 
to get hold together, and, while pulling with all their 
strength, the tail came off by the roots, a foot and a 
half long in their hands. ‘The animal was now 
more out of their reach than before, his whole body 
being hidden in the wall ; but he could not escape. 
The Indians picked away the mortar with. their 
machetes, and enlarged the hole until they got his 
hind legs clear, when, griping the body above the 
legs, they again hauled; but, though he had only 
the fore legs to hold on with, they could not tear him 
out. ‘They then untied the ropes of their sandals, 
and, fastening them above the hind legs, and pulling 
ill the long body seemed parting like the tail, they 
at length dragged him out. They secured him by 
a gripe under the fore part of the body, cracked his 
spine, and broke the bones of his fore legs so that 
he could.not run; pried his jaws open, fasten- 
ed them apart with a sharp stick so that he could 


44 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


not bite, and then put him away in the shade. This 
refined cruelty was to avoid the necessity of killing 
him immediately, for if killed, in that hot climate he 
would soon be unfit for food; but, mutilated and 
mangled as he was, he could be kept alive till night. 

This over, we moved on in a body, carrying the 
iguana, to the next building, which was situated in 
a different direction, about a quarter of a mile dis- 
tant, and completely buried in woods. It was sev- 
enty-five feet long, and had three doorways, leading 
to the same number of apartments. A great part of 
the front had fallen; the plate opposite represents 
that which remains. With some slight difference 
in the detail of ornament, the character is the same 
as in all the other buildings, and the general effect 
pleasing. Growing on the roof are two maguey 
plants, Agave Americana, in our latitude called the 
century plant, but under the hot sun of the tropics 
blooming every four or five years. There are four 
species of this plant in Yucatan: the maguey, from 
which is produced the pulqué, a beverage common 
in all the Mexican provinces, which, taken in ex- 
cess, produces intoxication; the henneken, which 
produces the article known in our markets as Sisal 
hemp; the sabila, with which the Indian women 
wean children, covering the breast with the leaf 
which is very bitter to the taste; and the peta, hay- 
ing leaves twice as large as the last, from which a 
very fine white hemp is made. ‘These plants, in 
some or all of their varieties, were found in the neigh- 





Pod 
crm 


SMITE 





APM Ie 








SJABACHT SCHE®S 


Page £4 Vou 





MORE RUINED BUILDINGS. A5 


bourhood of all the ruins, forming around them a 
pointed and thorny wall, which we were obliged to 
cut through to reach the buildings. 

While Mr. C. was engaged in drawing this struc- 
ture, the Indians told us of two others half a league 
distant. I selected two of them for guides, and, 
with the same alacrity which they had shown in 
everything else, nine volunteered to accompany me. 
We had a good path nearly all the way, until the 
Indians pointed out a white object seen indistinctly 
through the trees, again uttering, with strong guttu- 
rals, the familiar sound of “ Xlap-pahk,” or old walls. 
In a few minutes they cut a path to it. The build- 
ing was larger than the last, having the front orna- 
mented in the same way, much fallen, though still 
presenting an interesting spectacle. As it was not 
much overgrown, we set to work and cleared it, 
and left it for another, in regard to which I formed 
some curious expectations, for the Indians descri- 
bed it as very new. It lay on the same path, to the 
left in returning to the rancho, and separated from 
us by a great field of taje, through which we were 
obliged to cut a path for several hundred. yards to 
the foot of the terrace. ‘The walls were entire and 
very massive; but climbing up it, I found only a 
small building, consisting of but two apartments, the 
front much fallen, and the doors filled up, but no 
sign or token distinguishing it as newer or more 
modern; and I now learned, what I might have done 
before by a little asking, that all they meant by their 


46 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


description of it was, that it was the newest known 
to them, having been discovered but twelve years 
before, accidentally, on clearing the ground for a 
milpa, until which time it was as much unknown 
to them as to the rest. of the world. This intelli- 
gence gave great weight to the consideration which 
had often suggested itself before, that cities may 
exist equal to any now known, buried in the woods, 
overgrown and lost, which will perhaps never be 
discovered. 

On the walls of this desolate edifice were prints 
of the “mano colorado,’ or red hand. Often as I 
saw this print, it never failed to interest me. It was 
the stamp of the living hand; it always brought me 
nearer to the builders of these cities, and at times, 
amid stillness, desolation, and ruin, it seemed as if 
from behind the curtain that concealed them from 
view was extended the hand of greeting. ‘These 
prints were larger than any I had seen. In several 
places I measured them with my own, opening the 
fingers to correspond with those on the wall. The 
Indians said it was the hand of the master of the 
building. 

The mysterious interest which, in my eyes, always 
attached to this red hand; has assumed a more defi- 
nite shape. I have been advised that in Mr. Cat- 
lin’s collection of Indian curiosities, made during a 
long residence among our North American tribes, 
was a tent presented to him by the chief of the pow 
erful but now extinct race of Mandans, which. ex- 


THE RED HAND. 47 


hibits, among other marks, two prints of the red 
hand; and I have been farther advised that the red 
hand is seen constantly upon the buffalo robes and 
skins of wild animals brought in by the hunters on 
the Rocky Mountains, and, in fact, that it is a sym- 
bol recognised and in common use by the North 
American Indians of the present day. I do not 
mention these as facts within my own knowledge, 
but with the hope of attracting the attention of those 
who have opportunities and facilities for investiga- 
tion; and I suggest the interesting consideration 
that, if true, the red hand on the tent and the buffalo 
robes points back from the wandering tribes in our 
country to the comparatively polished people who 
erected the great cities at the south; and if true 
that it is at this day used.as a sign or symbol by 
our North American Indians, its meaning can be 
ascertained from living witnesses, and through ages 
of intervening darkness a ray of light may be thrown 
back upon the now mysterious and incomprehensi- 
ble characters which perplex the stranger on the 
walls of the desolate southern buildings. 

On my return to the rancho I learned the cause 
of the extraordinary attention shown us, which, 
though we had received it as a matter of course, 
and no more than what, for some unknown reasons, 
was justly due to us, had, nevertheless, somewhat 
surprised us. Our movements in that neighbour- 
hood were matters of some notoriety. Albino’s 
preliminary visit and our intentions had reached the 


48 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ears of the sefiora, and the evening before our arri- 
val orders from her had arrived at the rancho for all 
the Indians to put themselves at our command ; and 
this delicate manner of doing us a‘service is one of 
the many acts of kindness I have to acknowledge to 
the citizens of Yucatan. The old alcalde again 
waited till he became sleepy, when he asked per- 
mission to go to his hut, and four or five Indians 

again hung up their hammocks under the arbour. 


' 


RUINS OF LABNA. 49 


CHAPTER III. 


Ruins of Labna.—Accounts of the Indians not to be relied on.— 
Irretrievable Ruin. — Extraordinary Structure. — Doorways. — 
Chambers.—Gigantic Wall, covered with Designs in Stucco.— 
Death’s Heads.— Human Figures in Alto Relievo.— Colossal 
Figure seated.—Large Ball and Figures.—Dilapidated State of 
this Structure.—An arched Gateway.—Other Buildings.—Rich- 
ly ornamented Doorway.—Courtyard.—Ornaments in Stucco. 
—Large Building.— Magnificent Edifice.—-Fagade ornamented 
with sculptured Stone.—Circular Hole leading to a subterra- 
neous Chamber.—The Ramon Tree.—A Cave.—Conversation 
-with the Indians.—A Ride to the Hacienda of Tabi. —Sculp- 
tured Ornament.—Other Figures.—Visit to a Caye.—Tree-en- 
cumbered Path.—A Vaquero.—Descent into the Cave.—Fan- 
ciful Scene.—Return to the Rancho.—A Warm Bath. 


THE next morning we set out for the ruins of 
Labna. Our road lay southeast, among hills, and 
was more picturesque than any we had seen in the 
country. At the distance of a mile and a half we 
reached a field of ruins, which, after all we had seen, 
created in us new feelings of astonishment. It was 
one of the circumstances attending our exploration of 
ruins in this country, that until we arrived on the 
ground we had no idea of what we were to meet 
with. The accounts of the Indians were never re 
liable. When they gave us reason to expect much 
we found but little, and, on the other hand, when 
we expected but little a great field presented itself. 
Of this place even our friend the cura Carillo had 
never heard. Our first intelligence of ruins in this 
region was from the brother of the padrecito at 


Vou. IL.—G 5 


50 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Nohcacab, who, however, had never seen them him- 
self. Since our arrival in the country we had not 
met with anything that excited us more strongly, and 
now we had mingled feelings of pain and pleasure; 
of pain, that they had not been discovered before 
the sentence of irretrievable ruin had gone forth 
against them; at the same time it was matter of 
deep congratulation that, before the doom was ac- 
complished, we were permitted to see these decay- 
ing, but still proud memorials of a mysterious peo- 
ple. In a few years, even these will be gone; and 
as it has been denied that such things ever were, 
doubts may again arise whether they have indeed 
existed. So strong was this impression that we de- 
termined to fortify in every possible way our proofs. 
If anything could have added to the interest of dis- 
covering such a new field of research, it was the 
satisfaction of having at our command such an ef- 
fective force of Indians. No time was lost, and 
they began work with a spirit corresponding to their 
numbers. Many of them had hachas, or small 
axes, and the crash of falling trees was like the stir- 
ring noise of felling in one of our own forests. 
The plate opposite represents a pyramidal mound, 
holding aloft the most curious and extraordinary 
structure we had seen in the country. It put us on 
the alert the moment we saw it. We passed an en- 
tire day before it, and, in looking back upon our 
journey among ruined cities, no subject of greater 
interest presents itself to my mind. ‘The mound is 


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EXTRAORDINARY STRUCTURE. 51 


forty-five feet high. The steps had fallen; trees 
were growing out of the place where they stood, 
and we reached the top by clinging to the branch- 
es; when these were cleared away, it was extreme- 
ly difficult to ascend and descend. ‘The maguey 
plants cut down in making the clearing appear fall- 
en on the steps. 

A narrow platform forms the top of the mound. 
The building faces the south, and when entire meas- 
ured forty-three feet in front and twenty feet in 
depth. It had three doorways, of which one, with 
eight feet of the whole structure, has fallen, and is 
now in ruins. ‘The centre doorway opens into two 
chambers, each twenty feet long and six feet wide. 

Above the cornice of the building rises a gigantic 
perpendicular wall to the height of thirty feet, once 
ornamented from top to bottom, and from one side 
to the other, with colossal figures and other designs 
in stucco, now broken and in fragments, but still pre- 
senting a curious and extraordinary appearance, such 
as the art of no other people ever produced. Along 
the top, standing out on the wall, was a row of 
death’s heads; underneath were two lines of human 
figures in alto relievo (of which scattered arms and 
legs alone remain), the grouping of which, so far as 
it could be made out, showed considerable proficien- 
cy in that most difficult department of the art of de- 
sign. Over the centre doorway, constituting the 
principal ornament of the wall, was a colossal figure 
seated, of which only a large tippet and girdle, and 


52 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


some other detached portions, have been preserved. 
Conspicuous over the head of this principal figure 
is a large ball, with a human figure standing up be- 
side it, touching it with his hands, and another be- 
low it with one knee on the ground, and one hand 
thrown up as if in the effort to support the ball, or 
in the apprehension of its falling upon him. In all 
our labours in that country we never studied so dil- 
igently to make out from the fragments the combi- 
nations and significance of these figures and orna- 
ments. Standing in the same position, and looking 
at them all together, we could not agree. 

Mr. Catherwood made two drawings at different 
hours and under a different position of the sun, and 
Dr. Cabot and myself worked upon it the whole 
day with the Daguerreotype. With the full blaze 
of a vertical sun upon it, the white stone glared 
with an intensity dazzling and painful to the eyes, 
and almost realizing the account by Bernal Dias in 
the expedition to Mexico, of the arrival of the Span- 
iards at Cempoal. “Our advanced guard having gone 
to the great square, the buildings of which had been 
lately whitewashed and plastered, in which art these 
people are very expert, one of our horsemen was 
so struck with the splendour of their appearance in 
the sun, that he came back at full speed to Cortez, 
to tell him that the walls of the houses were of sil- 
ver.” 

Our best view was obtained in the afternoon, 
when the edifice was in shade, but so broken and 


RUINOUS STATE OF THIS STRUCTURE. 53 


confused were the ornaments that a distinct repre- 
sentation could not be made even with the Daguer- 
reotype, and the only way to make out all the details 
was near approach by means of a ladder; we had 
all the woods to make one of, but it was difficult 
for the Indians to make one of the length required; 
and when made it would have been too heavy and 
cumbersome to manage on the narrow platform in 
front. Besides, the wall was tottering and ready to 
fall. One portion was already gone in a perpen- 
dicular line from top to bottom, and the reader will 
see in the engraving that on a line with the right of 
the centre doorway the wall is cracked, and above 
is gaping, and stands apart more than a foot all the 
way to the top. In a few years it must fall. Its 
doom is sealed. Human power cannot save it; but 
in its ruins it gave a grand idea of the scenes of bar- 
baric magnificence which this country must have 
presented when all her cities were entire. ‘The fig- 
ures and ornaments on this wall were painted; the 
remains of bright colours are still visible, defying the 
action of the elements. If a solitary traveller from 
the Old World could by some strange accident have 
visited this aboriginal city when it was yet perfect, 
his account would have seemed more fanciful than 
any in Eastern story, and been considered a subject 
for the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. 

At the distance of a few hundred feet from this 
structure, in sight at the same time as we approach- 


54. INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ed it, is an arched gateway, remarkable for its beau- 
ty of proportions and grace of ornament. The 
plate opposite represents this gateway. On the 
right, running off at.an angle of thirty degrees, is a 
long building much fallen, which could not be com- 
prehended in the view. On the left it forms an an- 
gle with another building, and on the return of the 
wall there is a doorway, not shown in the engra- 
ving, of good proportions, and more richly ornament- 
ed than any other portion of the structure. The 
effect of the whole combination was curious and 
striking, and, familiar as we were with ruins, the 
first view, with the great wall towering in front, 
created an impression that is not easily described. 
The gateway is ten feet wide, passing through 
which we entered a thick forest, growing so close 
upon the building that we were unable to make out 
even its shape; but, on clearing away the trees, we 
discovered that this had been the principal front, 
and that these trees were growing in what had once 
been the area, or courtyard. ‘The doors of the 
apartments on both sides of the gateway, each 
twelve feet by eight, opened upon this area. Over 
each doorway was a square recess, in which were 
the remains of a rich ornament in stucco, with 
marks of paint still visible, apparently intended to 
represent the face of the sun surrounded by its rays, 
probably once objects of adoration and worship, 
























































































































































































































































































































































































































































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MAGNIFICENT EDIFICE. 55 


but now wilfully destroyed. The plate opposite 
represents this front. The buildings around the 
area formed a great irregular pile, measuring in all 
two hundred feet in length. ‘The plan was dif- 
ferent from that of any we had seen, but, having so 
many subjects to present, 1 have not had it en-. 
graved. 1 

Northeast from the mound on which the great 
wall stands, and about one hundred and fifty yards 
distant, is a large building, erected on a terrace, and 
hidden among the trees growing thereupon, with its 
front much ruined, and having but few remains of 
sculptured ornaments. Still farther in the same di- 
rection, going through the woods, we reach the 
grand, and, without extravagance, the really magnifi- 
cent building represented in the frontispiece to this 
volume. It stands on a gigantic terrace, four hun- 
dred feet long and one hundred and fifty feet deep. 
The whole terrace is covered with buildings. The 
front represented measures two hundred and eighty- 
two feet in length. It consisted of three distinct 
parts, differing in style, and perhaps erected at dif- 
ferent times. At a distance, as seen indistinctly 
through the trees, we had no idea of its extent. We 
came upon it at the corner which appears on the 
right in the engraving. Our guide cut a path along 
the front wall, and stopping, as we did, to look at 
the ornaments, and entering the apartments as we 
went along, the building seemed immense. 

The whole long facade was ornamented with 


56 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL 


sculptured stone, of which, large as the engraving 
is, the details cannot appear ; but, to give some idea 
of their character, a detached portion is represented 
in the engraving opposite, and, I ought at the same 
time to remark, is perhaps the most curious and in- 
teresting of any. It is at the left end of the prin- 
cipal building, and in the angle of the corner are 
the huge open jaws of an alligator, or some other 
hideous animal, enclosing a human head. 

The reader will form. some idea of the over- 
grown and shrouded condition of this building from 
the fact that I had been at work nearly the whole day 
upon the terrace, without knowing that there was 
another building on the top. In order to take in the 
whole front at one view, it was necessary to carry 
the clearing back some distance into the plain, and 
in doing this I discovered the upper structure. The 
growth of trees before it was almost equal to that 
on the terrace, or in any part of the forest. The 
whole had to be cleared, the trees thrown down 
upon the terrace, and thence dragged away to the 
plain. This building consists of single narrow cor- 
ridors, and the facade is of plain stone, without any 
ornaments. 

The platform in front is the roof of the building 
underneath, and in this platform was a circular hole, 
like those we had seen at Uxmal and other places, 
leading to subterraneous chambers. This hole was 
well known to the Indians, and had a marvellous 






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SUBTERRANEOUS CHAMBER. o7 


reputation ; and yet they never mentioned it until I 
climbed up to examine the upper building. ‘They 
said it was the abode of el duefio de la casa, or the 
owner of the building. I immediately proposed 
to descend, but the old Indian begged me not to do 
so, and said apprehensively to the others, “ Who 
knows but that he will meet with the owner ?” 
I immediately sent for rope, lantern, and match- 
es; and, absurd as it may seem, as I looked upon 
the wild figures of the Indians standing round the 
hole, and their earnest faces, it was really exci- 
ting to hear them talk of the owner. As there 
was a difficulty in procuring rope, I had a sapling 
cut and let down the hole, by means of which I 
descended with a lantern. ‘The news of my in- 
tention and of the preparations going on had spread 
among the Indians, and all left off work and hur- 
ried to the spot. The hole was about four feet 
deep, and, just as my head sunk below the surface, 
I was startled by an extraordinary scratching and 
scampering, and a huge iguana ran along the wall, 
and escaped through the orifice by which I had en- 
tered. 

The chamber was entirely different in shape from 
those I had seen before. ‘The latter*were circular, 
and had dome-shaped ceilings. ‘This had parallel 
walls and the triangular-arched ceiling; in fact, it 
was in shape exactly like the apartments above 
ground. It was eleven feet long, seven wide, and 


Vou. Il —H 


58 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ten high to the centre of the arch. ‘The walls and 
ceiling were plastered, and the floor was of cement, 
all hard and in a good state of preservation. A cen- 
tipede was the only tenant after the evasion of the 
iguana. 

While I was making these measurements, the li 
dians kept up a low conversation around the hole. 
A mystery hung around it, transmitted to them by 
their fathers, and connected with an _ indefinable 
sense of apprehension. ‘This mystery might have 
been solved at any time in five minutes, but none 
of them had ever thought of doing it, and the old 
man begged me to come out, saying that if I died 
they would have to answer for it. Their simplicity 
and credulity seem hardly credible. They had all 
sense enough to take their hands out of the fire 
without being told, but probably to this day they be- 
lieve that in that hole is the owner of the building. 
When I came out they looked at me with admira- 
tion. ‘They told me that there were other places of 
the same kind, but they would not show them to 
me, lest some accident should happen; and as my 
attempt drew them all from work, and I could not 
promise myself any satisfactory result, I refrained 
from insisting. 

This chamber was fenteda in the roof of the low- 
er building. ‘That building contained two corridors, 
and we had always supposed that the great interval 
between the arches of the parallel corridors was a 


A RAMON TREE. 59 


solid mass of masonry. The discovery of this 
chamber brought to light a new feature in the con- 
struction of these buildings. Whether the other 
roofs, or any of them, contained chambers, it is im- 
possible to say. Not suspecting anything of the 
kind, we had made no search for them, and they 
may exist, but with the holes covered up and hid- 
den by the growth and decay of vegetation. Here- 
_ tofore I had inclined to the opinion that the subter- 
raneous chambers J had met with were intended for 
cisterns or reservoirs of water. ‘The position of this 
in the roof of a building seemed adverse to such an 
idea, as, in case of a breach, the water might find 
its way into the apartment below. 

At the foot of the terrace was a tree, hiding part 
of the building. ‘Though holding trees in some de- 
gree of reverence, around these ruined cities it was 
a great satisfaction to hear them fall. This one 
was a noble ramon, which I had ordered to be cut 
down, and being engaged in another direction, I re- 
turned, and found that the Indians had not done so, 
and they said it was so hard that it would break 
their axes. These little axes seemed hardly capa- 
ble of making any impression upon the trunk, and 
I gave them directions, perhaps still more barbarous, 
to cut away the branches and leave the trunk. They 
hesitated, and one of them said, in a deprecating 
tone, that this tree served as food for horses and 
cattle, and their mistress had always charged them 
not to cut down such. The poor fellow seemed 


60 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL 


perplexed between the standing orders of the rancho 
and the special instructions to do what I required. 

The ramon tree was growing out of the mouth 
of a cave, which the Indians said was an ancient 
well. I should perhaps not have observed it, but 
for the discussion about cutting down the tree. I 
had no great disposition for another subterraneous. 
scramble, but descended the cavity or opening for 
the purpose of taking a bird’s-eye view of the mouth. 
On one side was a great ledge of stone projecting 
as a roof, and under this was a passage in the rock, 
choked up by masses of fallen stone. It was im- 
possible to continue if I had been so disposed, but 
there was every reason to believe that formerly there 
had been some wild passage through the rocks as at 
Xcoch and Chack, which led to a subterraneous de- 
posite of water, and that this had been one of the 
sources from which the ancient inhabitants procu- 
red their supply. 

From the number of Indians at our command, 
and their alacrity in working, we had been enabled 
to accomplish much in a very short time. In three 
days they finished all that I required of them. 
When I dismissed them, I gave a half dollar extra 
to be divided among seventeen, and as I was going 
away Bernabé exclaimed, “ Ave Maria, que gracias 
danavd.” “ Ave Maria, what thanks they give you.” 

The evening closed with a general gathering of 
the Indians under the arbour in front of the casa 
real. Before setting out in the morning the alealde 


A TALK WITH: THE INDIANS. 61 


asked me whether I wished them to assemble for 
the purpose of talking with them, and we had pro- 
vided for their entertainment a sheep and a turkey, 
to which Bernaldo had devoted the day. At sun- 
down all was ready. We insisted upon seating the 
old alealde on a chair. Bernaldo served out meat 
and tortillas, and the alcalde presided over the agua 
ardiente, which, as it was purchased of himself, and 
to prove that it was not bad, he tasted before serving 
the rest, and took his share afterward. Supper over, 
we began our conversation, which consisted entirely 
of questions on our part and answers on theirs, a man- 
ner of discourse even in civilized life difficult to be 
kept up long. ‘There was no unwillingness to give 
information, but there was a want of communica- 
tiveness which made all intercourse with them un- 
profitable and unsatisfactory. In fact, however, 
they had nothing to communicate; they had no 
stories or traditions; they knew nothing of the ori- 
gin of the ruined buildings; these were standing when 
they were born; had existed in‘the time of their fa- 
thers; and the old men said that they had fallen much 
within their own memory. In one point, however, 
they differed from the Indians of Uxmal and Zayi. 
They had no superstitious feelings with regard to 
the ruins, were not afraid to go to them at night, or 
to. sleep in them; and when we told them of the 
music that was heard sounding among the old build- 
ings of Zayi, they said that if it were heard among 
these, they would all go and dance to it. 


IT 6 


62 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


There were other vestiges and mounds, all, how- 
ever, in a ruinous condition. ‘The last day, while 
Mr. Catherwood was finishing at Labna, I rode 
with Bernaldo to the hacienda of ‘Tabi, two leagues 
distant, which, and those of Xcanchakan, already 
presented in these pages, and Vayalke, belonging to 
the Sefiora Joaquina Peon, where we stopped on our 
first visit to Uxmal, were distinguished as the three 
finest in Yucatan. Before the gate were some no- 
ble seybo trees, and near it a tiendicita, or small: 
shop, supplied with articles adapted to the wants of 
the Indians appertaining to the hacienda. ‘The 
great yard was lined with buildings, among which 
were the church and an enclosure for a_bull- 
fight, prepared for a festival which was to commence 
the next day. In the wall of the hacienda were 
sculptured ornaments from the ruins of ancien’ 
buildings. At the foot of the steps was a double- 
headed eagle, well carved, holding in his claws a 
sort of sceptre, and underneath were the figures of 
two tigers four feet high. In the back of the house 
was a projecting stone figure, with its mouth open, 
an uncomfortable expression of face, arms akimbo, 
and hands pressing the sides, as if in a qualmish 
state. It was used as a water-spout, and a stream 
was pouring out of the mouth. The buildings from 
which these stones were taken were near the haci- 
enda, but were mere piles of ruins. They had fur- 
nished materials for the construction of the church, 
walls, and all the edifices on the hacienda. 


VISIT TO A CAVE. 63 


Besides this there was a great cave, of which I 
had heard in Merida from the owner, who said he 
had never visited it, but wished me to do so, and he 
would read my description of it. ‘The major domo 
was an intelligent Mestizo, who had been at the 
cave, and confirmed all the accounts I had heard of 
it, of sculptured figures of men and animals, pillars, 
and a chapel of rock under the earth. He furnish- 
ed me with a vaquero as a guide and a relief horse, 
and, setting out, a short distance from the hacien- 
da we turned into a tree-encumbered path, so diffi- 
cult to pass through that, before we had gone far, it 
seemed quite reasonable in the owner to content 
himself with reading our description of the cave, 
without taking the trouble to see it for himself. 
The vaquero was encased in the equipments with 
which that class ride into the woods after cattle 
His dress was a small, hard, heavy straw hat, cotton 
shirt, drawers, and sandals; over his body a thick 
jacket, or overall, made of tanned cowhide, with the 
sleeves reaching below his hands, and standing out 
as if made of wood; his saddle had large leather 
flaps, which folded back and protected his naked 
legs, and leather stirrup flaps to protect his feet. 
Where he dashed through the bushes and briers un- 
harmed, my thin blues got caught and torn; but ne 
knew what garrapatas were, and said with empha- 
sis, “ Estos chicos son muy Demonios.” “Those 
little ones are the very d—l.” 

At the distance of a league we reached the cave 


64 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


and, tying our horses, descended by a great chasm 
to the depth of perhaps two hundred feet, when we 
found ourselves under a great shelf of overhanging 
rock, the cavern being dark as we advanced, but all 
at once lighted up from beyond by a perpendicular 
orifice, and exhibiting in the background magnifi- 
cent stalactites, picturesque blocks and fragments of 
rock, which, in the shadows of the background, as- 
sumed all manner of fantastic shapes, and, from their 
fancied resemblance, had been called the figures of 
men and animals, pillars and chapels. I saw at 
once that there was another disappointment for me ; 
there were no monuments of art, and had never been 
anything artificial; but the cave itself, being large 
and open, and lighted in several places by orifices 
above, was so magnificent that, notwithstanding the 
labour and disappointment, I did not regret my visit. 
I passed two hours in wandering through it, re- 
turned to the hacienda to dine, and it was after 
dark when I reached the rancho, and for the last 
time had the benefit of its well in the shape of a 
warm bath. ‘Uhroughout Yucatan, every Indian, 
however poor, has, as part of the furniture of his hut, 
a baiio, or sort of bathing-tub; and, next to ma- 
king tortillas, the great use of a wife is to have warm 
water ready for him when he returns from his work 
We had not the latter convenience, but at this place, 
for a medio, we had the alcalde’s baiio every even- 
ing. It was a wooden dug-out, flat bottomed, about 
three feet long, eighteen inches wide, three or four 


A BATH. 65 


inches deep, and bathing in it was somewhat like 

bathing in the salver of a tea-table, but, covered as 

we were constantly with garrapata bites, mere ablu- 

tion was as grateful as a Turkish or Egyptian bath. 
Vou. IL—I 


66 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER IV. 


Search for Ruined Cities continued.—Journey to the Rancho of 
Kewick.—Ruined Building.—Lose the Road.—Set right by an 
Indian.—Arrival at Kewick.—The Casa Real.—Visit from the 
Proprietor of the Rancho, a full-blooded Indian.—His Charac- 
ter.—Visit to the Ruins.—Garrapatas.—Old Walls.—Fagades.— 
Imposing Scene of Ruins.—Principal Doorway.—Apartments. 
—Curious Painting.—Excavating a Stone.—A long Building.— 
Other Ruins.—Continued Scarcity of Water.—Visit to a Cave, 
called by the Indians Actum.—A wild Scene.—An Aguada.— 
Return to the Casa Real.—A Crisis in Money Matters.—Jour- 
ney to Xul.—Entry into the Village.-—The Convent.—Recep- 
tion.— The Cura of Xul.— His Character.— Mingling of Old 
Things with New.—The Church.—A Levée.—A Welcome Ar- 
rival. 


Tue next morning we resumed our journey in 
search of ruined cities. Our next point of destina- 
tion was the rancho of Kewick, three leagues dis- 
tant. Mr. Catherwood set out with the servants 
and luggage, Dr. Cabot and myself following in 
about an hour. ‘The Indians told us there was no 
difficulty in finding the road, and we set out alone. 
About a mile from the rancho we passed a ruined 
building on the left, surmounted by a high wall, with 
oblong apertures, like that mentioned at Zayi as re- 

sembling a New-England factory. The face of the » 


A DILEMMA. 67. 


country was rolling, and more open than any we had 
seen. We passed through two Indian ranchos, and 
a league beyond came to a dividing point, where 
we found ourselves at.a loss. Both were mere In- 
dian footpaths, seldom or never traversed by horse- 
men, and, having but one chance against us, we 
selected that most directly in line with the one by 
which we had come. In about an hour the di- 
rection changed so much that we tured back, 
and, after a toilsome ride, reached again the divi- 
ding point, and turned into the other path. This 
led us into a wild savanna surrounded by hills, and 
very soon we found tracks leading off in different 
directions, among which, in a short time, we be- 
came perfectly bewildered. ‘he whole distance 
to Kewick was but three leagues; we had been ri- 
ding hard six hours, and began to fear that we had 
made a mistake in-turning back, and at every step 
were going more astray. In the midst of our per- 
plexities we came upon an Indian leading a wild 
colt, who, without asking any questions, or waiting 
for any from us, waved us back, and, tying his colt to 
a bush, led us across the plain into another path, fol- 
lowing which some distance, he again struck across, 
and put us into still another, where he left us, and 
started to return to his colt. We were loth to lose 
him, and urged him to continue as our guide ; but he 
was impenetrable until we held up a medio, when he 
again moved on before us. The whole region was 


. 68 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


so wild that even yet we had doubts, and hardly be- 
lieved that such a path could lead to a village or 
rancho; but, withal, there was one interesting cir- 
cumstance. In our desolate and wandering path 
we had seen in different places, at a distance, and 
inaccessible, five high mounds, holding aloft the ru- 
ins of ancient buildings ; and doubtless there were 
more buried in the woods. At three o’clock we 
entered a dense forest, and came suddenly upon the 
casa real of Kewick, standing alone, almost buried 
among trees, the only habitation of any kind in 




































































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CASA REAL OF KEWICK. 69 


sight ; and, to increase the wondering interest which 
attended every step of our journey in that country, 
it stood on the platform of an ancient terrace, 
strewed with the relics of a ruined edifice. The 
steps of the terrace had fallen and been newly laid, 
but the walls were entire, with all the stones in place. 
Conspicuous in view was Mr. Catherwood with 
our servants and lugeage, and, as we rode up, it 
seemed a strange confusion of things past and pres- 
ent, of scenes consecrated by time and those of ev- 
ery-day life, though Mr. Catherwood dispelled the 
floating visions by his first greeting, which was an 
assurance that the casa real was full of fleas. We 
tied our horses at the foot of the terrace, and ascend- 
ed the steps. The casa real had mud walls and a 
thatched roof, and in front was an arbour. Sit- 
ting down under the arbour, with our hotel on this 
ancient platform, we had seldom experienced higher 
satisfaction on reaching a new and unknown field 
of ruins, though perhaps this was owing somewhat 
to the circumstance of finding ourselves, after a hot 
and perplexing ride, safely arrived at our place of 
destination. We had still two hours of daylight; 
and, anxious to have a glimpse of the ruins before 
night, we had some fried eggs and tortillas got ready, 
and while making a hasty meal, the proprietor of 
the rancho, attended by a party of Indians, came 
to pay us a visit. 

This proprietor was a full-blooded Indian, the 
first of this ancient but degraded race whom we had 


70 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


seen in the position of land-owner and master. He 
was about forty-five years old, and highly respecta- 
ble in his appearance and manners. He had inher- 
ited the land from-his fathers, did’ not know how 
long it had been transmitted, but believed that it had 
always been in his family. ‘The Indians on the 
rancho were his servants, and we had not seen in any 
village or on any hacienda men of better appear- 
ance, or under more excellent discipline. ‘T‘his pro- 
duced on my mind a strong impression that, indolent, 
ignorant, and debased as the race is under the do- 
minion. of strangers, the Indian even now is not inca- 
pable of fulfilling the obligations of a higher station 
than that in which his destiny has placed him. It 
is not true that he is fit only to labour with his 
hands; he has within him that which is capable of 
directing the labour of others; and as this Indian 
master sat on the terrace, with his dependants 
crouching round him, I could imagine him the de- 
scendant of a long line of caciques who once 
reigned in the city, the ruins of which were his in- 
heritance. Involuntarily we treated him with a re- 
spect we had never shown to an Indian before ; but 
perhaps we were not free from the influence of 
feelings which govern in civilized life, and our re- 
spect may have proceeded from the discovery that 
our new acquaintance was a man of property, pos- 
sessed not merely of acres, and Indians, and unpro- 
ductive real estate, but also of that great desidera- 
tum in these trying times, ready money; for we had 


GARRAPATAS. eA 


given Albino a dollar to purchase eggs with, who ob- 
jected to it as too large a coin to be available on 
the rancho, but on his return informed us, with an 
expression of surprise, that the master had changed 
it the moment it was offered to him. 

Our hasty dinner over, we asked for Indians to 
guide us to the ruins, and were somewhat startled by 
the objections they all made on account of the garra- 
patas. Since we left Uxmal the greatest of our small 
hardships had been the annoyance of these insects ; 
in fact, it was by no means a small hardship. F re- 
quently we came in contact with a bush covered 
with them, from which thousands swarmed upon us, 
like moving grains of sand, and scattered till the 
body itself seemed: crawling. Our horses suffered, 
perhaps, more than ourselves, and it became a habit, 
whenever we dismounted, to rasp their sides with a 

rough stick. During the dry season the little pests 
are killed off by the heat of the sun, and devoured by 
birds, but for which I verily believe they would 
make the country uninhabitable. All along we had 
been told that the dry season was at hand, and they 
would soon be over; but we began to despair of any 
dry season, and had no hopes of getting rid of them. 
Nevertheless, we were somewhat startled at the 
warning conveyed by the reluctance of the Indians; 
and when we insisted upon going, they gave us an- 
other alarming intimation by cutting twigs, with 
which, from the moment of starting, they whipped 
the bushes on each side, and swept the path before 
them. 


72 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Beyond the woods we came out into a compara- 
tively open field,in which we saw on all sides through 
the trees the Xlap-pahk, or old walls, now grown 
so familiar, a collection of vast remains and of many 
buildings. We worked our way to all within sight. 
The facades were not so much ornamented as some 
we had seen, but the stones were more massive, and 
the style of architecture was simple, severe, and 
grand. Nearly every house had fallen, and one long 
ornamented front lay on the ground cracked and 
doubled up as if shaken off by the vibrations of an 
earthquake, and still struggling to retain its upright 
position, the whole presenting a most picturesque 
and imposing scene of ruins, and conveying to the 
mind a strong image of the besom of destruction 
sweeping over a city. Night came upon us while 
gazing at a mysterious painting, and we returned to 
the casa real to sleep. 

Karly the next morning we were again on the 
ground, with our Indian proprietor and a large par- 
ty of his criados; and as the reader is now some- 
what familiar with the general character of these 
ruins, I select from the great mass around only such 
as have some peculiarity. 

The first is that represented in the plate opposite. 
It had been the principal doorway, and was all that 
now remained of a long line of front. which lay in 
ruins on the ground. It is remarkable for its sim- 
plicity, and, in that style of architecture, for its gran- 
deur of proportions. | 














































































































































































































































































































CURIOUS PAINTING. 74 


The apartment into which this door opened 
had nothing to distinguish it from hundreds of oth- 
ers we had seen, but in the corner one was the 
mysterious painting at which we were gazing the 
evening before, when night overtook us. The 
end wall had fallen inward; the others remain- 
ed. The ceiling, as in all the other buildings, was’ 
formed by two sides rising to meet each other, and 
covered within a foot of the point of junction by a 
flat layer of stones. In all the other arches, with 
out a single exception, the layer was perfectly plain: 
but this had a single stone distinguished by a paint- 
ing, which covered the whole surface presented to 
view. ‘The painting itself was curious; the colours 
were bright, red and green predominating ; the lines 
clear and distinct, and the whole was more perfect 
than any paintingwe had seen. But its position sur- 
prised us more than the painting itself; it was in the 
most out-of-the-way spot in the whole edifice, and 
but for the Indians we might not have noticed it at 
all. Why this layer of stones was so adorned, or 
why this particular stone was distinguished above 
all others in the same layer, we were unable to dis- 
cover, but we considered that it was not done ca- 
priciously nor without cause; in fact, we had long 
been of opinion that every stone in those ancient 
buildings, and every design and ornament that dec- 
orated them, had some certain though now inscruta- 


hle meaning. 


Vou. IL—K 7 


74 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The following engraving represents this painting. 
It exhibits a rude human figure, surrounded by hiero- 








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ae 


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EO = , 
RIN Seas | 
7 a PL hs ae eed 

glyphics, which doubtless contain the whole of its 
story. It is 30 inches long by 18 inches wide, and 
the prevailing colour is red. From its position in the 
wall, it was impossible to draw it without getting it 
out and lowering it to the ground, which I was anx- 
ious to accomplish, not only for the sake of the draw- 
ing, but for the purpose of carrying it away. I had 
apprehensions that the proprietor would make ob- 
jections, for both he and the Indians had pointed it 


EXCAVATING A STONE. 75 


out as the most curious part of the ruins; but, for- 
tunately, they had no feeling about it, and were all 
ready to assist in any way we directed. The only 
way of getting at it was by digging down through 
the roof; and, as usual, a friendly tree was at hand 
to assist us in the ascent. ‘I'he roof was flat, made 
of stone and mortar cemented together, and several 
feet in thickness. The Indians had no crowbar, but 
loosening the mortar with their machetes, and pry- 
ing apart the stones by means of hard wood sap- 
lings with the points sharpened, they excavated down 
to the layer on the top of the arch. The stone lap- 
ped over about a foot on each side, and was so heavy 
that it was impossible to hoist it out of the hole; 
our only way, therefore, was to lower it down into 
the apartment. ‘The master sent some Indians to 
the rancho to search for ropes, and, as a measure 
of precaution, I had branches cut, and made a bed 
several feet thick under the stone. Some of the 
Indians still at work were preparing to let it fall, 
when Dr. Cabot, who was fortunately on the roof 
at the time, put a stop to their proceedings. 

The Indians returned with the rope, and while 
lowering the stone one of the strands broke, and it 
came thundering down, but the bed of branches 
saved the painting from destruction. 

The proprietor made no objections to my carrying 
it away, but it was too heavy for a mule-load, and 
the Indians would not undertake to carry it on their 
shoulders. ‘The only way of removing it was to 


76 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


have it cut down to a portable size; and when we 
left, the proprietor accompanied me to the village to 
procure a stonecutter for that purpose, but there was 
none in the village, nor any chance of one within 
<wenty-seven miles. Unable to do anything with 
the stone, [ engaged the proprietor to place it in an 
apartment sheltered from rain ; and, if I do not mis- 
take the character of my Indian friend and inheritor 
of a ruined city, it now lies subject to my order; 
and I hereby authorize the next American traveller 
to bring it away at his own expense, and deposite it 
in the National Museum at Washington. 

I shall present but one more view from the ruins 
of Kewick. It is part of the front of a long build- 
ing, forming a right angle with the one last referred 
to. The terraces almost join, and though all was 
so overgrown that it was difficult to make out the 
plan and juxtaposition, the probability is that they 
formed two sides of a grand rectangular area. ‘The 
whole building measures two hundred and thirty feet 
in length. In the centre is a wide ruined staircase 
leading to the top. ‘The plate opposite represents 
half of the building to the line of the staircase, the 
other half being exactly similar. ‘The whole could 
not be drawn without carrying back the clearing to 
some distance, and consuming more time than we 
thought worth while to devote toit. Below the cor- 
tice the entire edifice is plain; and above it is or- 
aamented the whole length with small circular shafts 
set in the wall. 


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CONTINUED SCARCITY OF WATER. 77 


‘The remaining ruins of Kewick we left as we 
found them. Fallen buildings and fragments of 
sculptured stone strew the ground in every direction ; 
but it is impossible to give the reader an idea of 
the impression produced by wandering among them. 
I’or a brief space only we broke the stillness of the 
desolate city, and left it again to solitude and si- 
lence. We had reason to believe that no white man 
had ever seen it, and probably but few will ever do 
so, for every year is hurrying it on to more utter de 
struction. 

The same scarcity of water which we had found 
all over this region, except at Sabachshé, exists here 
also. ‘The source which supplied the ancient city 
had engaged the attention of its Indian proprietor, 
and while Mr. Catherwood was drawing the last 
building, the Indians conducted us to a cave, called 
in their language Actum, which they supposed was 
an ancient well. ‘The entrance was by a hole un- 
der an overhanging rock, passing through which by 
means of a tree, with branches or crotches to serve 
as steps, we descended to a large platform of rock. 
Overhead was an immense rocky roof, and at the 
brink of the platform was a great cavern, with pre- 
cipitous sides, thirty or forty feet deep, from which 
the Indians supposed some passage opened that 
would lead to water. As we flared our torches over 
the chasm, it presented a scene of wildness and 
grandeur which, in an hour of idleness, might have 
tempted us to explore it; but we had more than 

nough to occupy our time. 


78 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Coming out from the cave, we went on to the 
aguada, which was nearly a league distant. It was a 
small, muddy pond, with trees growing on the sides 
and into the water, which, in any other country, 
would be considered an unfit watering-place for 
beasts. . The proprietor and all the Indians told us 
that in the dry season the remains of stone embank- 
ments were still visible, made, as they supposed, by 
the ancient inhabitants. ‘The bank was knee deep 
with mud; a few poles were laid out on supporters 
driven into the mud, and along these the Indians 
walked to dip up water. At the time our horses 
wére brought down to drink; but they had to be 
watered out of the calabashes or drinking-cups of 
the Indians. 

At two o'clock we returned to the casa real. We 
had “done up” another ruined city, and were ready 
to set out again; but we had one serious impedi- 
ment in the way. I have mentioned that on our 
arrival at this place we gave Albino a dollar, but I 
_ omitted to say that it was our last. On setting out 
on this journey, we had reduced our personal lug- 
eage to hammocks and petaquillas, the latter being 
oblong straw baskets without fastenings, unsafe to 
carry money in, and silver, the only available coin, 
was too heavy to carry about the person. At Sa- 
bachshé we discovered that our expenses had over- 
run our estimates, and sent Albino back to Nohca- 
cab with the keys of our money trunk, and direc-- 
tions to follow us in all haste to this place. The 


A CRISIS IN MONEY MATTERS. 79 


time calculated for his overtaking us had passed, 
and he did not come. We should have thought 
nothing of a little delay but for our pressing neces- 
sities. Some accident might have happened to him, 
or the temptation might have been too strong. Our 
affairs were approaching a crisis, and the barbarism 
of the people of the country in matters of finance 
was hurrying it on. If we wanted a fowl, food for 
horses, or an Indian to work, the money must be 
ready at the moment. ‘Throughout our journey it 
was the same ; every order for the purchase of an ar- 
ticle was null unless the money accompanied it. 
Brought up under the wings of credit, this system 
was always odious to us. We could attempt no- 
thing on a liberal and enlightened scale, were always 
obliged to calculate our means, and could incur no 
expense unless we had the money to defray it on 
the spot. This, of course, trammelled enterprise, 
and now, on a mere miscalculation, we were brought 
suddenly to a stand still, On counting the scatter- 
ing medios of private stock, we found that we had 
enough to pay for transporting our luggage to the 
village of Xul, but if we tarried over the night and 
Albino did not come, both ourselves and our horses 
must go without rations in the morning, and then 
we should have no means of getting away our lug- 
gage. Which of the two to choose? Whether it 
was better to meet our fate at the rancho, or go on 


to the village and trust to fortune ! 
In this delicate posture or allairs, we sat down to 


80 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


one of Bernaldo’s best miscellaneous preparations 
of fowls, rice, and frigoles, and finished the last meal 
that we were able to pay for. ‘T’his over, we had 
recourse to a small paper of Havana cigars, three in 
number, containing the last of our stock, reserved 
for some extraordinary occasion. Satisfied that no 
occasion could offer when we should be more in 
need of extraneous support, we lighted them and 
sat down under the arbour, and, as the smoke rolled 
away, listened for the tread of the trotter. It was 
really perplexing to know what to do; but it was very 
certain that if we remained at the rancho, as soon — 
as a medio was not forthcoming the moment it was 
wanted we were undone. Our chance would be 
better at the village, and we determined to break up 
and go on. 

Leaving special charge for Albino to follow, at 
three o'clock we set out. The proprietor accom- 
panied us, and at half past five we made a dashing 
entry into the village of Xul, with horses, and ser- 
vants, and carriers, and just one solitary medio left. 

The casa real was the poorest we had seen in 
the country, and, under “any circumstances, it was 
not the place for us, for, immediately on dismounting, 
it would be necessary to order ramon and maize for 
the horses, and the money must follow the order. 
There was a crowd of gaping loungers around the 
door, and if we stopped at this place we should be 
obliged to expose ourselves at once, without any op 


ARRIVAL AT THE VILLAGE OF XUL. 81 


portunity of telling our story to advantage, or of ma- 
king friends. 

On the opposite side of the plaza was one of 
those buildings which had so often sheltered us in 
time of trouble, but now I hesitated to approach the 
convent. ‘The fame of the cura of Xul had reached 
our ears; report said that he was rich, and a money- 
making man, and odd. Among his other posses- 
sions, he was lord of a ruined city which we pro- 
posed to visit, particularly interesting to us from the 
circumstance that, according to the accounts, it was 
then inhabited by Indians. ‘ We wished to procure 
from him facilities for exploring this city to advan- 
tage, and doubted whether it would be any recom- 
mendation to his favour as a rich man to begin our 
acquaintance by borrowing money of him. 

But, although rich, he was a padre. Without dis- 
mounting, I rode over to the convent. The padre 
came out to meet me, and told me that he had been 
expecting us every day. I dismounted, and he took 
my horse by the bridle, led him across the corridor, 
through the sala, and out to the yard. He asked 
why my companions did not come over, and, at a 
signal. in a few minutes their horses followed mine 
through the sala. 

Still we were not entirely at ease. In Yucatan, 
as in Central America, it is the custom for a travel- 
ler, whether he alights at the casa real, convent, or 
the hacienda of a friend, to buy ramon and maize 


for his horses ; and it is no lack of hospitality in the 
Vou. H.—L 


82 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


host, after providing a place for the beasts, to pay no 
more attention to them. This might have brought on 
a premature explanation; but presently four Indians 
appeared, each with a great back-load of ramon. 
We ventured to give a hint about maize, and in a 
moment all anxiety about our horses was at an end, 
and we had the whole evening to manage for our- 
selves. 

Don José Gulielmo Roderigues, the cura of Xul, 
was a Guachapino, or native of Old Spain, of which, 
like all the old Spaniards in the country, he was 
somewhat proud. He was educated a Franciscan 
friar ; but thirty years before, on account of the rev- 
olutions and the persecution of his order, he fled 
from Spain, and took refuge in Yucatan. On the 
destruction of the Franciscan Convent in Merida, 
and the breaking up of the Franciscan monks, he 
secularized, and entered the regular church; had 
been cura of Ticul and Nohcacab; and about ten 
years before had been appointed to the district of 
Xul. His curacy was one of those called benefi- 
ciaries ; 2.¢., in consideration of building the church, 
keeping it in repair, and performing the duties and 
services of a priest, the capitation tax paid by the 
Indians, and the fees allowed for baptism, marriages, 
masses, salves, and funeral services, after deducting 
one seventh for the Church, belonged to himself per- 
sonally. At the time of his appointment, the place 
now occupied by the village was a mere Indian ran 
cho. ‘The land comprehended in his district was, 


CURA OF XUL. "83 


in general, good for maize, but, like all the rest of 
that region, 1t was destitute of water, or, at least, but 
badly supplied. His first object had been to remedy 
this deficiency, to which end he had dug a well twe 
hundred feet deep, at an expense of fifteen hundred 
dollars. Besides this, he had large and substantial 
cisterns, equal to any we had seen in the country, for 
the reception of rain-water; and, by furnishing this 
necessary of life in abundance, he had drawn around 
him a population of seven thousand. 

But to us there was something more interesting 
than this creation of a village and a population in 
the wilderness, for here, again, was the same strange 
mingling of old things withnew. ‘The village stands 
on the site of an aboriginal city. In the corner of 
the plaza now occupied by the cura’s house, the 
yard of which contains the well and cisterns, once 
stood a pyramidal mound with a building upon it. 
The cura had himself pulled down this mound, and 
levelled it so that nothing was left to indicate even 
the place where it stood. With the materials he 
had built the house and cisterns, and portions of the 
ancient edifice now formed the walls of the new. 
With singular good taste, showing his practical turn 
of mind, and at the same time a vein of antiquarian 
feeling, he had fixed in conspicuous places, when 
they answered his purpose, many of the old carved 
stones. ‘T‘he convent and church occupied one side 
of the plaza; along the corridor of the former waa 
a long seat of time-polished stones taken from the 


a 


84. INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ruins of an ancient building, and in every quarter 
might be seen these memorials of the past, connect- 
ing links between the living and the dead, and sery- 
ing to keep alive the memory of the fact, which, but 
for them, would in a few years be forgotten, that on 
this spot once stood an ancient Indian city. 

But the work upon which the padre prided him- 
self most, and which, perhaps, did him most credit, 
was the church. It was one of the few the erection 
of which had been undertaken of late years, when 
the time had gone by for devoting the labour of a 
whole village to such works; and it presents a com- 
bination of simplicity, convenience, and good taste, 
in better keeping with the spirit of the age than the 
gigantic but tottering structures in the other villages, 
while it is not less attractive in the eyes of the In- 
dians. ‘The cura employed an amanuensis to write 
out a description of the church, as he said, for me 
to publish in my work, which, however, I am obli- 
ged to omit, mentioning only that over the principal 
altar were sixteen columns from the ruins at the 
rancho of Nohcacab, which were the next we pro- 
posed to visit. 

During the evening we had a levée of all the 
principal white inhabitants, to the number of about 
six or eight. Among them was the proprietor of 
the zancho and ruins of Nohcacab, to whom we 
were introduced by the cuta, with a tribute to our 
antiquarian, scientific, and medical attainments, 
which showed an appreciation of merit it was sel- 


A WELCOME ARRIVAL. 85 


dom our good fortune to meet with. ‘The proprie- 
tor could give us very little information about the 
ruins, but undertook to make all the necessary ar- 
rangements for our exploration of them, and to ac- 
company us himself. 

At that moment we stood upon a giddy height. 
To ask the loan of a few dollars might lower us 
materially. ‘[‘he evening was wearing away with- 
out any opportunity of entering upon this interest- 
ing subject, when, to our great satisfaction, we heard 
the clattering of horses’ hoofs, and Albino made his 
appearance. ‘The production of a bag of dollars 
fixed us in our high position, and we were able to 
order Indians for the rancho of Nohcacab the next 
day. We finished the evening with a warm bath 
in a hand-basin, under the personal direction of the 
cura, which relieved somewhat the burning of gar- 
rapata bites, and then retired to our hammocks. 


Il t 8 ak 


86 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER V. 


Journey to the Rancho of Nohcacab.—A Fountain and Seybo 
Tree.—Arrival at the Rancho.—Its Appearance.—A sick Trio. 
—Effects of a good Breakfast.—Visit to the Ruins.—Terrace 
and Buildings.—Three* other Buildings.—Character of these 
Ruins.—Disappointment.—Return to Xul.-—Visit to another ru- 
ined City.—Ruined Building.—An Arch, plastered and covered 
with Painted Figures.—Other Paintings.—Subterranean Well. 
—Return to the Village.—Journey to Ticul.—Large Mounds.— 
Passage of the Sierra.—Grand View.—Arrival at Ticul.—A Vil- 
lage Festival.—Ball of the Mestizas.—Costumes.—Dance of 
the Toros.—Lassoing Cattle.—Ball by Daylight.—The Fiscales. 
—Ludicrous Scene.—A Dance.—Love in a Phrensy.—A unique 
Breakfast.—Close of the Ball. 


Earty the next morning we set out for the ran- 
cho of Nohcacab, three leagues distant. ‘The pro- 
prietor had gone before daylight, to receive us on 
the ground. We had not gone far when Mr. C. 
complained of a slight headache, and wishing to ride 
moderately, Dr. Cabot and myself went on, leav- 
ing him to follow with the luggage. ‘The morning 
air was fresh and invigorating, and the country roll- 
ing, hilly, and picturesque. At the distance of two 
leagues we reached what was called a hebe, or fount- 
ain. It was a large rocky basin, about ninety feet 
in circumference and ten feet deep, which served as 
a receptacle for rain-water. In that dry country it 
was a grateful spectacle, and beside it was a large 


RANCHO OF NOHCACAB. 87 


seybo tree, that seemed inviting the traveller to re- 
pose under its branches. We watered our horses 
from the same waccal, or drinking cup, that we used 
ourselves, and felt strongly tempted to take a bath, 
but, with our experience of fever and ague, were 
afraid to run the risk. This fountain was a league 
from the rancho to which we were going, and was 
the only watering-place for its inhabitants. 

At nine o’clock we reached the rancho, which 
showed the truth of the Spanish proverb, “ La vista 
del amo engorda el caballo ;” “ The sight of the mas- 
ter fattens the horse.” The first huts were enclosed 
by a well-built stone wall, along which appeared, in 
various places, sculptured fragments from the ruins. 
Beyond was another wall, enclosing the hut occu- 
pied by the master on his visits to the rancho, the en- 
trance to which was by a gateway formed of two 
sculptured monuments of curious design and excel- 
lent workmanship, raising high our expectations in 
regard to the ruins on this rancho, and sustaining the 
accounts we had heard of them. 

The proprietor was waiting to receive us, and, 
having taken possession of an empty hut, and dis- 
posed of our horses, we accompanied him to look 
over the rancho. What he regarded as most worth 
showing was his tobacco crop, lying in some empty 
huts to dry, which he contemplated with great sat- 
isfaction, and the well, which he looked at with as 
much sorrow. It was three hundred and fifty-four 
feet deep, and even at this great depth it was dry. 


“ 


88 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


: | 

While we were thus engaged, our baggage car- 
riers arrived with intelligence that Mr. Catherwood 
was taken ill, and they had left him lying in the 
road. I immediately applied to the proprietor for a 
coché and Indians, and he, with great alacrity, un- 
dertook to get them ready; in the mean time I sad- 
dled my horse and hastened back to Mr. Cather- 
wood, whom I found lying on the ground, with Al- 
vino by his side, under the shade of the tree by the 
fountain, with an ague upon him, wrapped up in all 
the coverings he could muster, even to the saddle- 
cloths of the horses. While he was in this state, 
two men came along, bestriding the same horse, and 
bringing sheets and ponchas to make a covering for 
the coché ; then came a straggling line of Indians, 
each with a long pole, and withes to lash them to- 
gether; and it was more than an hour before the 
coché was ready. The path was narrow, and lined 
on each side with thorn bushes, the spikes of which 
stuck in the naked flesh of the Indians as they car- 
ried the coché, and they were obliged to stop fre- 
quently and disentangle themselves. On reaching 
the rancho I found Doctor Cabot down with a fever. 
From the excitement and anxiety of following Mr. 
Catherwood under the hot sun, and now finding 
Doctor Cabot down, a cold shivering crept over me, 
and in a few minutes we were all three in our ham- 
mocks. A few hours had made a great change in 
our condition; and we came near bringing our host 
down with us. He had been employed in preparing 


VISIT TO THE RUINS. 89 


breakfast upon a large scale, and seemed mortified 
that there was no one to do it justice. Out of pure 
good feeling toward him, I had it brought to the side 
of my hammock. My effort made him happy, and J 
began to think my prostration was merely the reac- 
tion from over-excitement ; and by degrees what | 
began to please our host [ continued for my own 
satisfaction. ‘[‘he troubles of my companions no 
longer disturbed me. My equanimity was perfectly 
restored, and, breakfast over, I set out to look at the 
ruins. 

Ever since our arrival in Yucatan we had re- 
ceived courtesies and civilities, but none more thor- 
ough than those bestowed by our host of Nohcacab. 
He had come out with the intention of passing a 
week with us, and the Indians and the whole rancho 
were at our service as long as we chose to remain. 

Passing through one of the huts, we soon came 
to a hill covered with trees and very steep, up which 
the proprietor had cut, not a mere Indian path, but 
a road two or three yards wide, leading to a build 
ing standing upon a terrace on the brow of the hill. 
The facade above the cornice had fallen, and below 
it was of plain stone. ‘The interior was entire, but 
without any distinguishing features. [ollowing the 
brow of this hill, we came to three other build- 
ings, all standing on the same range, and without 
any important variations in the details, except that 
in one the arch had no overlapping stone, but the 
two sides of the ceiling ran up to a point, and 


Vou. IL.—M 


90 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


formed. a complete angle. ‘T‘hese, the Indians told 
us, were the only buildings that remained. ‘That 
from which the pillars in the church at Xul were 
taken was a mere mass of ruins. | was extremely 
disappointed. From the accounts which had in- 
duced us to visit this place, we had made larger cal- 
culations. It was the first time I had been thorough- 
ly disappointed. ‘There were no subjects for the 
pencil, and, except the deep and abiding impression 
of moving among the deserted structures of another 
ruined and desolate city, there was nothing to carry 
away. ‘The proprietor seemed mortified that he had 
not better ruins to show us, but I gave him to under- 
stand that it was not his fault, and that he was in ne 
wise to blame. Nevertheless, it was really vexatious, 
with such good-will on his part, and such a troop of 
Indians at command, that there was nothing for us 
to do. The Indians sympathized in the mortifica- 
tion of their master, and, to indemnify me, told me 
of two other ruined cities, one of which was but 
two leagues from the village of Xul. 

I returned and made my report, and Mr. Cath- 
erwood immediately proposed a return to the village. 
Albino had given him an alarming account of the 
unhealthiness of the rancho, and he considered it 
advisable to avoid sleeping there a single night. 
Doctor Cabot was sitting up in his hammock, dis-— 
secting a bird. A recurrence of fever might detain 
us some time, and we determined on returning im- 
mediately to Xul. Our decision was carried into 


RETURN TO XUL.—MMORE RUINS. 9] 


execution as promptly as it was made, and, leaving 
our luggage to the care of Albino, in half an hour, 
to the astonishment of the Indians and the mortifi- 
cation of the proprietor, we were on our way to the 
village. 

It was late in the evening when we arrived, but 
the cura received us as kindly as before. Du- 
ring the evening I made inquiries for the place of 
which the Indians at the rancho had told me. It 
was but two leagues distant, but of all who happen- 
ed to drop in, not one was aware of its existence. 
The cura, however, sent for a young man who had 
a rancho in that direction, and who promised to ac- 
company me. 

At six o’clock the next morning we started, nei- 
ther Mr. Catherwood nor Doctor Cabot being able 
to accompany me. At the distance of about two 
leagues we reached an Indian rancho, where we 
learned from an old woman that we had passed the 
path leading to the ruins. We could not prevail on 
her to go back and show us the way, but she gave 
us a direction to another rancho, where she said we 
could procure a guide. This rancho was situated 
in a small clearing in the midst of the woods, en- 
closed by a bush fence, and before the door was an 
arbour covered with palm leaves, with little ham- 
mocks swinging under it, and all together the picture 
of Indian comfort. 

My companion went in, and I dismounted, think- 
ing that this promised a good stopping-place, when, 


92 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


looking down, I saw my pantaloons brown with 
garrapatas. I laid hold of a twig, intending to 
switch them off, and hundreds fell upon my hand 
and arm. Getting rid of those in sight as well as | 
could, and mounting immediately, I rode off, hoping 
most earnestly not to find any ruins, nor any neces- 
sity of taking up our abode in this comfortable-seem- 
ing rancho. 

We were fortunate in finding at this place an In- 
dian, who, for reasons known to himself and the wife 
of the master, was making a visit during the absence 
of the latter at his milpa; but for which we should 
not have been able to procure a guide. Retracing 
our steps, and crossing the camino real, we entered 
the woods on the other side, and tying our horses, 
the Indian cut a path up the side of a hill, on the 
top of which were the ruins of a building. The 
outer wall had fallen, leaving exposed to view the 
inner half of the arch, by which, as we approached 
it, my attention was strongly attracted. ‘This arch 
was plastered and covered with painted figures in - 
profile, much mutilated, but in one place a row of 
legs remained, which seemed to have belonged to a 
procession, and at the first glance brought to my 
mind the funeral processions on the walls of the 
tombs at ‘Thebes. In the triangular wall forming 
the end of the room were three compartments, in 
which were figures, some having their heads adorned 
with plumes, others with a sort of steeple cap, and 
carrying on their heads something like a basket; 


PAINTINGS. | 93 


and two were standing on their hands with thei 
heels in the air. These figures were about a foot 
high, and painted red. ‘The drawing was good, the 
attitudes were spirited and life-like, and altogether, 
even in their mutilated state, they were by far the 
most interesting paintings we had seen in the country. 

Another apartment had been plastered and-ecov- 
ered with paintings, the colours of which were in 
some places still bright and vivid. In this apart- 
ment we cornered and killed a snake five feet long, 
and as I threw it out at the door a strong picture 
rose up before me of the terrific scenes which must 
have been enacted in this region; the cries of wo 
that must have ascended to Heaven when these 
sculptured and painted edifices were abandoned, to 
become the dwelling-place of vultures and serpents. 

There was one other building, and these two, my 
guide said, were all, but probably others lie buried in 
the woods. Returning to our horses, he led me to 
another extraordinary subterraneous well, which 
probably furnished water to the ancient inhabitants. 
I looked into the mouth, and saw that the first de- 
scent was by a steep ladder, but had no disposition 
to explore it. 

In a few niinutes we mounted to return to the 
village. Ruins were increasing upon us, to explore 
which thoroughly would be the work of years; 
we had but months, and were again arrested by 
illness. For some days, at least, Mr. Catherwood 
would not be able to resume work. I was really 


94. INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


distressed by the magnitude of what was before 
us, but, for the present, we could do nothing, and 
I determined at once to change the scene. The 
festival of Ticul was at hand, and: that night it 
was to open with el bayle de las Mestizas, or the 
Mestiza ball. Ticul lay in our return route, nine 
leagues from the village of Xul, but I determined to 
reach it that evening. My companion did not sym- 
pathize in my humour; his vaquero saddle hurt him, 
and he could not ride faster than a walk. I had 
need to economize all my strength; but I took his 
hard-trotting horse and uneasy saddle, and gave him 
mine. Pushing on, at eleven o'clock we reached 
Xul, where I had my horse unsaddled and washed, 
ordered him a good mess of corn, and two boiled 
egos for myself. In the mean time, Mr. Cather- 
wood had a recurrence of fever and ague, and my 
horse was led away; but the attack proved slight, 
and I had him brought out again. At two o'clock I 
resumed my journey, with a sheet, a hammock, and 
Albino. 'The heat was scorching, and Albino would 
have grumbled at setting out at this hour, but he, 
too, was ripe for the fiesta of ‘Ticul. 

In an hour we saw in the woods on our right 
large mounds, indicating that here, too, had once 
‘stood an ancient city. I rode in to look at them, but 
the buildings which had crowned them were all fallen 
and ruined, and [ only gained an addition to the 
stock of garrapatas already on hand. We had not 
heard of these ruins at the village, and, on inquiring 
afterward, [ could find no name for them. 


PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA. 95 


At the distance of three leagues we commenced 
ascending the sierra, and for two hours the road lay 
over an immense ledge of solid rock. ‘Next to the 
Mico Mountain, it was the worst range I ever cross- 
ed, but of entirely different character; instead of 
gullies, and holes, and walls of mud, it consisted 
of naked, broken rock, the reflection of the sun 
upon which was intense and extremely painful to 
the eyes. In some places it was slippery as glass. 
I had crossed the sierra in two different places be- 
fore, but they were comparatively like the passage 
of the Simplon with that of San Bernard or San 
Gothard across the Alps. My horse’s hoofs clattered 
and rang at every step, and, though strong and sure- 
footed, he stumbled and slid in a way that was 
painful and dangerous to both horse and rider; in- 
deed, it would have been an agreeable change to 
be occasionally stuck in the mud. It was impossi- 
ble to go faster than a walk, and, afraid that night 
would overtake us, in which case, as there was no 
moon, we might lose our way, I dismounted and 
hurried on, leading my horse. 

It was nearly dark when we reached the top of 
the last range. ‘The view was the grandest I had 
seen in the country. On the very brink stond the 
church of La Hermita, below the village of Oxcutz- 
cab, and beyond a boundless wooded plain, dotted 
in three places with villages. We descended by a 
steep and stony path, and, winding along the front of 
La Hermita, came upon a broad pavement of stones 


96 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


from the ruined buildings of an aboriginal town. 
We passed under an imposing gateway, and, en- 
tering the Village, stopped at the first house for a 
draught of water, where, looking back, we saw the 
shades of night gathering over the sierra, a token of 
our narrow escape. ‘There were ruined mounds in 
the neighbourhood, which I intended to look at in 
passing, but we-had still four leagues to make, and 
pushed on. ‘The road was straight and level, but 
stony, and very soon it became so dark that we 
could see nothing. My horse had done a hard 
day’s work, and stumbled so that I could scarcely 
keep him from fallmg. We roused the barking dogs 
of two villages, of which, however, I could distin- 
guish nothing but the outline of their gigantic 
churches, and at nine o’clock rode into the plaza of 
Ticul. It was crowded with Indians, blazing with 
lights, and occupied by a great circular scaffold for 
a bull-ring, and a long, enclosed arbour, from the 
latter of which strains of music gave notice that 
the bayle de las Mestizas had already begun. 
Once more I received a cordial welcome from 
the cura Carillo; but the music from the arbour re- 
minded me that the moments of pleasure were fleet- 
ing. Our trunks had been ordered over from Noh- 
cacab, and, making a hurried toilet, I hastened to 
the ball-room, accompanied by the padre Brizeiia; 
the crowd outside opened a way, Don Philippe Peon 
beckoned to me as I entered, and in a moment 
more I was seated in one of the best places at 


BALL OF THE MESTIZAS. ™ 97 


the bayle de las Mestizas. After a month in 
Indian ranchos, that day toiling among ruins, almost 
driven to distraction by garrapatas, clambering over 
a frightful sierra, and making a journey worse than 
any sixty miles in our country, all at once I settled 
down at a fancy ball, amid music, lights, and 
pretty women, in the full enjoyment of an arm- 
chairand acigar. Tor a moment a shade of regret 
came over me as [ thought of my invalid friends, 
but I soon forgot them. | 

The enramada, or enclosure for the ball-room, 
was an arbour about one hundred and fifty feet long 
and fifty feet wide, surrounded by a railing of rude 
lattice-work, covered with costal, or hemp bagging, 
as a protection against the night air and sun, and 
lighted by lamps with large glass shades. ‘The floor 
was of hard cement; along the railing was a row of | 
chairs, all occupied by ladies; gentlemen, boys, and 
girls, children and nurses, were sitting promiscuous- 
ly on the floor, and Don Philippe Peon, when he 
gave me his chair, took a place among them. El 
bayle de las Mestizas was what might be called a 
fancy ball, in which the seforitas of the village ap- 
peared as las Mestizas, or in the costume of Mestiza 
women: loose white frock, with red worked border 
round the neck and skirt, a man’s black hat, a blue 
scarf over the shoulder, gold necklace and bracelets. 
The young men figured as vaqueros, or major domos, 
in shirt and pantaloons of pink striped muslin, yellow 
buckskin shoes, and low, round-crowned, hard-plat- 


Vou. Il.—N 9 


98 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ted straw hat, with narrow brim rolled up at the sides, 
and trimmed with gold cord and tassels. Both cos- 
tumes were fanciful and pretty, but at first the black 
hat was repulsive. I had heard of the sombreros 
negros as part of the Mestiza costume, and had im- 
agined some neat and graceful fabric of straw; but 
the faces of the girls were so soft and mild that even 
a man’s hat could not divest them of their feminine 
charm. Altogether the scene was somewhat differ 
ent from what I expected, more refined, fanciful, and 
picturesque. . 

To sustain the fancy character, the only dance 
was that of the toros. A vaquero stood up, and 
each Mestiza was called out in order. This dance, 
as we had seen it among the Indians, was extreme- 
ly uninteresting, and required a movement of the 
body, a fling of the arms, and a snapping of the fin- 
gers, which were at least inelegant; but with las 
Mestizas of Ticul it was all graceful and pleasing, 
and there was something particularly winning in the 
snapping of the fingers. ‘There were no dashing 
beauties, and not one who seemed to have any idea 
of being a belle; but all exhibited a mildness, soft- 
ness, and amiability of expression that created a feel- 
ing of promiscuous tenderness. Sitting at ease in 
an arm-chair, after my sojourn in Indian ranchos, I 
was particularly alive to these influences. And there 
was such a charm about that Mestiza dress. It was 
so clean, simple, and loose, leaving 


* 4 
LASSOING CATTLE. 99 


“ Every beauty free 
To sink or swell as Nature pleases.” 


The ball broke up too soon, when I was but begin- 
ning to reap the fruit of my hard day’s work. ‘There 
was an irruption of servants to carry home the chairs, 
and in half an hour, except along a line of tables in 
front of the audiencia, the village was still. Fora 
little while, in my quiet chamber at the convent, the 
gentle figures of las Mestizas still haunted me, but, 
worn down by the fatigues of the day, I very soon 
forgot them. 

At daylight the next morning the ringing of bells 
and firing of rockets announced the continuance of 
the fiesta; high mass was performed in the church, 
and at eight o’clock there was a grand exhibition of 
lassoing cattle in the plaza by amateur vaqueros. 
These were now mounted, had large vaquero saddles, 
spurs to match, and each was provided with a coil 
of rope in hand; bulls of two years old were let loose 
in the plaza, with the bull-ring to double round, and 
every street in'the village open to them. The am- 
ateurs rode after them like mad, to the great peril of 
old people, women, and children, who scampered out 
of the way as well as they could, but all as much 
pleased with the sport as the bull or the vaqueros. 
One horse fell and hurt his rider, but there were no 
necks broken. 

This over, all dispersed to prepare for the bayle 
de dia, or ball by daylight. [ sat for an hour in the 
corridor of the convent, looking out upon the plaza. 


100 ' INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The sun was beaming with intense heat, and the 
village was as still as if some great calamity had sud- 
denly overtaken it. At length a group was seen 
crossing the plaza: a vaquero escorting a Mestiza 
to the ball, holding over her head a red silk umbrel- 
la to protect her from the scorching rays of the sun ; 
then an old lady and gentleman, children, and ser- 
vants, a complete family group, the females all in 
white, with bright-coloured scarfs and shawls. Oth- 
er groups appeared crossing in other directions, form- 
ing picturesque and pleasing spectacles in the plaza. 
I walked over to the arbour. Although in broad 
daylight, under the glare of a midday sun, and sha- - 
ded only on one side by hemp bagging, as the Mesti- 
zas took their seats they seemed prettier than the 
night before. No adjustment of curtain light was 
necessary for the morning after the ball, for the ladies 
had retired at an early hour. The black hat had 
lost its repugnant character, and on some it seemed 
most becoming. ‘I'he costumes of the vaqueros, too, 
bore well the light of day. ‘The place was open to 
all who chose to enter, and the floor was covered 
with Indian women and children, and real Mesti- 
zoes in cotton shirts, drawers, and sandals; the bar- 
rier, too, was lined with a dense mass of Indians 
and Mestizoes, looking on good-humouredly at this 
personification of themselves and their ways. The 
whole gathering was more informal and gayer, and 
seemed more what it was intended to be, a fiesta of 
the village. 


oe 


BALL BY DAYLIGHT. 101 


The bayle de dia was intended to give a picture 
of life at a hacienda, and there were two prominent 
personages, who did not appear the evening before, 
called fiscales, being the officers attendant upon the 
ancient caciques, and representing them in their au- 
thority over the Indians. ‘These wore long, loose, 
dirty camisas hanging off one shoulder, and with the 
sleeves below the hands; calzoncillos, or drawers, 
to match, held up by a long cotton sash, the ends of 
which dangled below the knees; sandals, slouching 
‘straw hats, with brims ten or twelve inches wide, 
and long locks of horse hair hanging behind their 
ears. One of them wore awry over his shoulder a 
mantle of faded blue cotton cloth, said to be an heir- 
loom descended from an ancient cacique, and each 
flourished a leather whip with eight or ten lashes. 
These were the managers and masters of ceremo- 
nies, with absolute and unlimited authority over the 
whole company, and, as they boasted, they had a 
right to whip the Mestizas if they pleased. 

As each Mestiza arrived they quietly put aside 
the gentleman escorting her, and conducted the lady 
to her seat. If the gentleman did not give way 
readily, they took him by the shoulders, and walked 
him to the other end of the floor. A crowd fol- 
lowed wherever they moved, and all the time the 
company was assembling they threw everything into 
laughter and confusion by their whimsical efforts to 
preserve order. 

At length they undertook to clear a space for 


102 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


dancing, backing the company in a summary way 
as far as they could go, and then taking the men 
and boys by the shoulder, and jamming them down 
upon the floor. While they were thus engaged, a 
stout gentleman, of respectable appearance, holding 
some high office in the village, appeared in the 
doorway, quietly lighting another straw cigar, and 
as soon as they saw him they desisted from the 
work they had in hand, and, in the capricious and 
wanton exercise of their arbitrary power, rushed 
across, seized him, dragged him to the centre of 
the floor, hoisted him upon the shoulders of a va- 
quero, and, pulling apart the skirts of his coat, bela- 
boured him with a mock vigour and earnestness that 
convulsed the whole company with laughter. ‘I'he 
sides of the elevated dignitary shook, the vaquero 
shook under him, and they were near coming down 
together. 

This over, the rogues came directly upon me. 
El Ingles had not long escaped their eye. I had 
with difficulty avoided a scene, and my time seemed 
now to have come. ‘The one with the cacique’s 
mantle led the way with long strides, lash raised in 
the air, a loud voice, and his eyes, sparkling with 
frolic and mischief, fastened upon mine. ‘The crowd 
followed, and I was a little afraid of an attempt to 
hoist me too on the shoulders of a vaquero; but all 
at once he stopped short, and, unexpectedly changing 
his language, opened upon me with a loud harangue 
in Maya. All knew that I did not understand a word 


A LUDICROUS SCENE. 103 


he said, and the laugh was strong against me. I was | 
a little annoyed at being made such a mark, but, rec- 
ollecting the achievement of our vernacular at Noh- 
cacab, | answered him with an English oration. The 
effect was instantaneous. He had never before heard 
a language that he could not understand, bent his 
ear earnestly, as if by close attention he could catch 
the meaning, and looked up with an air of real per- 
plexity that turned the laugh completely against him. 
He began again, and I answered with a stanza of 
Greek poetry, which had hung by me in some un- 
accountable way; this, again, completely silenced 
him, and he dropped the title Ingles, put his arms 
around my neck, called me “amigo,” and made a 
covenant not to speak in any language but Castilian 

This over, he ordered: the music to commence, 
planted a vaquero on the floor, and led out a Mes- 
tiza to dance, again threw all the bystanders into 
confusion, and sat down quietly on the floor at my 
feet. All the Mestizas were again called out in 
order, presenting the same pretty spectacle I had 
seen the evening before. And there was one whom 
I had noticed then, not more than fifteen, delicate 
and fragile, with eyes so soft and dovelike that it 
was impossible to look upon them without a feel- 
ing of tenderness. She seemed sent into the world 
to be cherished and cared for, and closeted like the 
finest china, the very emblem of purity, innocence, 
and loveliness; and, as I had learned, she was the 
child of shame, being the crianza, or natural daugh- 


104 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ter, of a gentleman of the village; perhaps it was 
that she seemed so ill fitted to buffet with contume- 
ly and reproach that gave such an indescribable 
interest to her appearance; but, fortunately, brought 
up in her father’s house, she may go through life 
without meeting an averted face, or feeling that a 
stain rests upon her name. 

As may be supposed, the presence of this sefiori- 
ta on the floor did not escape the keen eyes of 
the mercurial fiscal. All at once he became ex- 
‘cited and restless, and, starting to his feet, gazed 
at her for a moment as if entranced by a vision, 
and then, as if carried away by his excitement, and 
utterly unconscious of what he was about, he push- 
ed aside the vaquero who was dancing with her, 
and, flinging his sombrero on the ground, cried out 
in a tone of ecstacy, “ Voy baylar con vd, mi cora- 
zon!” “Iam going to dance with you, my heart !” 
As he danced, his excitement seemed to increase; 
forgetting everything around him, the expression of 
his face became rapt, fixed, intense; he tore off his 
cacique’s mantle, and, dancing toward her, spread 
it at the lady’s feet. This seemed only to excite 
him more; and, as if forgetful of everything else, he 
seized the collar of his camisa, and, dancing violent- 
ly all the time, with a nervous grasp, tugged as if 
he meant to pull it over his head, and throw all that 
he was worth at her feet. Failing in this, for a mo- 
ment he seemed to give up in despair, but all at 
once he thrust his hands under the long garment, 


LOVE IN A PHRENSY. 105 


seized the sash around his waist, and, still dancing 
with all his might, unwound it, and, moving up to 
her with mingled grace, gallantry, and desperation, 
dropped it at her feet, and danced back to his place. 
By this time his calzoncillos, kept up by the sash, 
were giving way. Grasping them furiously, and 
holding them up with both hands, as if by a great 
effort, he went on dancing with a desperate expres- 
sion of face that was irresistibly ludicrous. 

During all this time the company was convulsed 
with laughter, and I could not help remarking the 
extreme modesty and propriety of the young lady, 
who never even smiled or looked at him, but, when 
the dance was ended, bowed and returned to her 
seat. ‘The poor fiscal stood gazing at the vacant 
place where she had stood, as if the sun of his ex- 
istence had set. At length he turned his head and 
called out “amigo,” asked if there were any such 
Mestizas in my country; if | would like to take 
her home with me; then said that he could not spare 
this one, but I might take my choice of the others ; 
insisting loudly upon my making a selection, and 
promising to deliver any one I liked to me at the 
convent. 

At first I supposed that these fiscales were, like 
the vaqueros, the principal young men of the vil- 
lage, who, for that day, gave themselves up to frolic 
and fun, but I learned that these were not willing to 
assume such a character, but employed others known 
to them for wit and humour, and, at the same time, 


Vout. IL.—O 


106 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


for propriety and respectability of behaviour. ‘T’his 
was a matador de cochinos, or pig butcher, of excel- 
lent character, and muy vivo, by which may be un- 
derstood “ a fellow of infinite wit and humour.” ‘I'he 
people of the village seemed to think that the pow- 
er given him to whip the Mestizas was the extremity 
of license, but they did not consider that, even for 
the day, they put him on equal terms with those 
who, in his daily walks, were to him as beings of 
another sphere ; for the time he might pour out his 
tribute of feeling to beauty and attraction, but it 
was all to be regarded as a piece of extravagance, 
to be forgotten by all who heard it, and particularly 
by her to whom it was addressed. Alas, poor ma- 
tador de cochinos! 

According to the rules, the mantle and sash which 
he had thrown at the feet of the lady belonged to 
her, and he was obliged to appeal to the charity of 
the spectators for money to redeem them. In the 
mean time the dance continued. The fiscales, hav- 
ing once taken ground as dancers, were continually 
ordering the vaqueros to step aside, and taking their 
places. At times, too, under the direction of the 
fiscales, the idle vaqueros seated themselves on the 
ground at the head of the arbour, and all joined in 
the hacienda song of the vaqueria, in alternate lines 
of Maya and Castilian. ‘The chorus was led ty the 
fiscales, with a noise that drowned every other sound; 
aud while this boisterous merriment was going on, 


A UNIQUE BREAKFAST. 107 


the light figures of the Mestizas were moving in the 
dance. 

At twelve o'clock preparations were made for a 
dejetner a la fourchette, dispensing, however, with 
knives and forks. ‘The centre of the floor was 
cleared; and an enormous earthen jar, equal in ca- 
pacity to a barrel, was brought in, containing frigo- 
les, or black beans fried. Another vessel of the same 
size had a preparation of eggs and meat, and near 
them was a small mountain of tortillas, with all 
which it was the business of the Mestizas to serve 
the company. ‘The fiscal did not neglect his ami- 
go, but led to me one of whom I had expressed my 
opinion to him in confidence, and who brought in 
the palm of her hand a layer of tortillas, with frigo- 
les in the centre, and turned up at the sides by means 
of the fingers, so as to prevent the frigoles from es- 
caping. An attempt to acknowledge the civility 
was repressed by the fiscal, who crowded my hat 
over my eyes, saying that they passed no compli- 
ments on the haciendas, and we were all Indians 
together. ‘The tortillas, with the frigoles in them, 
were not easy to hold without endangering my only 
pair of white pantaloons. I relieved myself by pass- 
ing them over the railing, where any number of In- 
dians stood ready to receive them; but I had hard- 
ly got rid of this when another Mestiza brought an- 
other portion, and while this engaged my one hand 
_a third placed tortillas with eggs in the other, and 
left me afraid to move; but I contrived to pass 


108 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


both handfuls over the railing. Breakfast over, the 
dancing was resumed with new spirit. ‘The fisca- 
les were more amusing than ever; all agreed that 
the ball was muy allégre, or very gay, and I could 
not but notice that, amid all this motley company 
and extraordinary license, there was less noise than 
in a private drawing-room at home. At two o’clock, 
to my great regret, the ball of las Mestizas broke 
up. It, was something entirely new, and remains 
engraven on my mind as the best of village balls. 


BULL-FIGHTS. 109 


CHAPTER VL 


Bull-fights.—Horse-race.—Bull-fighters.—Their villanous Appear- 
ance.—Death of a Bull.—A Ball of Etiquette.—Society in Yu- 
catan.—Costumes at the Ball.—More Bull-fights.—A Mestiza. 
—Scenes in the Bull-ring.--A Storm.—Dispersion of the Spec- 
tators.—A Discovery.—A new Reformation in Yucatan.—Celi- 
bacy of Priests.—A few Words about the Padres.—Arrival of Mr. 
Catherwood and Dr. Cabot.—Rain.—Daguerreotyping.—‘ The 
Ancient Chronology of Yucatan.”—Don Pio Perez.—Calendar 
of the Ancient Indians.—Substantially the same with that of the 
Mexicans.—This Fact tends to show the common Origin of the 
aboriginal Inhabitants of Yucatan and Mexico. 


In the afternoon commenced the first bull-fight. 
The bull-fights of Ticul had a great reputation 
throughout the country. At the last, a toreador was 
killed, which gave a promise of something exciting. 
The young men of the village still appeared in 
character as vaqueros, and before the fight they had 
a horse-race, which consisted in riding across the 
ring, one at a time, in at one door and out at the 
other, and then racing in the same way through the 
other two doors. It was a fine opportunity for ex- 
hibiting horses and horsemanship, and was a sort of 
pony scamper. 

After these came the toreadores, or bull-fighters, 


who, to do them justice, were by far the worst-look- 
W Orel: 10 


110 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ing men I saw in the country, or anywhere else, ex- 
cept, perhaps, the libellous representatives of the 
twelve apostles in the feet-washing scene, at which 
I was once a spectator in Jerusalem. ‘They were 
of a mixed blood, which makes, perhaps, the worst 
race known, viz., the cross of the Indian and Afri- 
can, and called Pardos. Their complexion is a 
black tinge laid upon copper, and, not satisfied with 
the bountiful share of ugliness which nature had 
given them, these worthies had done something for 
themselves in the way of costume, which was a vile 
caricature of the common European dress, with some 
touches of their own elegant fancy. Altogether, I 
could imagine that they had fitted themselves out 
with the unclaimed wardrobe of deceased hospital 
patients. ‘Their horses, being borrowed by the com- 
mittee of arrangements, with the understanding that 
if killed they were to be paid for, were spavined, 
foundered, one-eyed, wretched beasts. They had 
saddles covered with scarlet cloths, enormous spurs 
with rowels six inches long, and murderous spears 
discoloured with old stains of blood. . ‘The combina- 
tion of colours, particularly the scarlet, was intended 
to frighten the bull, and all together they were al- 
most enough to frighten el demonio. 

The races over, the amateur vaqueros led in the 
first bull, having two real vaqueros at hand for cases 
of emergency. The toreadores charged upon him 
With spears brandished, and presenting a vivid pic- 
ture of the infernals let loose; after which they dis- 


BALL OF ETIQUETTE. 111 


mounted and attacked him on foot. The bull was 
brought to bay directly under our box, and twice I 
saw the iron pass between his horns, enter the back 
of his neck with a dull, grating sound, and come 
out bloody, leaving a ghastly wound. At the third 
blow the bull staggered, struggled to sustain him- 
self on his feet, but fell back on his haunches, and, 
with a feeble bellow, rolled over on his side; blood 
streamed from his mouth, his tongue hung out on the 
ground covered with dust, and in a few moments he 
was dead. ‘The amateurs tied his hind legs, ropes 
were fastened to the saddles of two horsemen, oth- 
ers took hold, and as the carcase was dragged across 
the ring, a fair and gentle-voiced neighbour said, in 
a tone of surprise, “Dos caballos y seis Christia- 
nos!” “'['wo horses and six Christians !” 

I omit the rest. From the bull-fight we again 
went to the ball, which, in the evening, was the 
bayle del etiquette, no gentleman being admitted 
without pantaloons. Society in Yucatan stands 
upon an aristocratic footing. It is divided into two 
great classes: those who wear pantaloons, and those 
who do not; the latter, and by far the most numer- 
ous body, going in calconcillos, or drawers. The 
high-handed regulation of the ball of etiquette was 
aimed at them, and excluded many of our friends 
of the morning; but it did not seem to give any of- 
fence, the excluded quietly taking their places at the 
outside of the railing. El matador de cochinos, or 
the pig butcher, was admitted in drawers, but as as- 


112 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


sistant to the servants, handing refreshments to the 
ladies he had danced with in the morning. © The 
whole aspect of things was changed ; the vaqueros 
were in dress suits, or such undress as was not un- 
becoming at a village ball. The sefioritas had 
thrown aside their simple Mestiza dresses, and ap- 
peared in tunicas, or frocks, made to fit the figure, 
or, rather, to cut the figure in two. The Indian 
dances had disappeared, and quadrilles and contra- 
dances, waltzes and gallopades, supplied their place. 
It wanted the piquancy of the bayle de las Mesti- 
zas; the young ladies were not so pretty in their 
more fashionable costume. Still there was the same 
gentleness of expression, the dances were slow, the 
music low and soft, and, in the quiet and decorum 
of all, it was difficult to recognise the gay and tu- 
multuous party of the morning, and yet more difficult 
to believe that these gentle and, in some cases, lovely 
faces, had been but a few hours before lighted! up 
with the barbarous excitement of the bull-ring. |» 

At ten the next day there was another bull-fight 
then a horse-race from the plaza down the principal 
street to the house of Don. Philippe Peon; and in 
the afternoon yet another bull-fight, which opened 
for me under pleasant circumstances. I did not in- 
tend to go, had not secured a seat, and took my 
place in a box so full that I was obliged to stand up 
by the door. . In front was one of the prettiest of 
the Mestizas of the ball; on her right was a va- 
cant seat, and next to this sat a padre, who had just 


A GATHERING STORM. 113 


arrived at the village. I was curious to know who 
could be the proprietor of the vacant seat, when the 
gentleman himself (an acquaintance) entered, and 
asked me to take it. I did not require much urging, 
and, in taking it, turned first to the padre to ac- 
knowledge my good fortune in obtaining it, which 
communication | thought he did not receive quite 
as graciously as he might have done. ‘The corrida 
opened bravely; bulls were speared, blood flowed, 
and men were tumbled over. I had never taken so 
much pleasure in the opening scenes; but a storm 
was gathering; the heavens put on black; clouds 
whirled through the air; the men stood up, seeming 
anxious and vexed, and the ladies were uneasy 
about their mantillas and headdresses. Darkness 
increased, but man and beast went on fighting in the 
ring, and it had a wild and strange effect, with the 
black clouds scudding above us, to look from the 
fierce struggle up to the sea of anxious faces on the 
other side of the scaffold, and beyond, over the top, 
to the brilliant arch of a rainbow illuminating with a 
single line the blackness of the sky. I pointed out 
the rainbow to the lady as an indication that there 
would be no rain; but the sign disappeared, a fu- 
rious gust of wind swept over the frail scaffold, the 
scalloped papers fluttered, shawls and handkerchiefs 
flew, a few drops of rain fell, and in three minutes 
the Plaza de Toros was empty. I had no umbrel- 
la to offer the lady ; some ill-natured person carried 
her off; and the matador de cochinos extended his 


Vou. I.—P 


114 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


poncha over my head, and escorted me to a house, 
where I made a great discovery, which everybody in 
the village knew except myself. The lady, whom IJ 
had supposed to be a sejiorita, was a comprometida, 
or compromised, or, to speak precisely, she was the 
compagnera. of the padre who sat on the other side 
of me. . 

I have omitted to mention that a great change, or, 
as it is sometimes called in the country, a new ref- 
ormation, is now going on in Yucatan, not like the 
reformations got up by disorganizing laymen, which 
have, at times, convulsed the whole Christian world, 
but peculiar and local, and touching only the domes- 
tic relations of the padres. It may be known to 
many of my readers that in the early ages of the 
Catholic Church priests were not forbidden to mar- 
ry. In process of time the pope, to wean them 
from wordly ties, enjoined celibacy, and separation 
where marriage had already taken place. ‘The 
priests resisted, and the struggle threatened to un- 
dermine the whole fabric of church government ; 
but the pope prevailed, and for eight centuries, 
throughout those countries in which the spiritual 
domination of Rome is acknowledged, no priest has 
been allowed to marry. But in Yucatan this bur- 
den was found too heavy to be borne. Very early, 
from the necessity growing out of local position, 
some special indulgences had been granted to the 
people of this country, among which was a dispen- 
sation for eating meat on fast days; and, under the 


THE PADRES. 115 


liberal spirit of this bull, or of some other that I am 
not aware of, the good padres have relaxed consider- 
ably the tightness of the cord that binds them to cel- 
ibacy. 

I am about making a delicate and curious com- _ 
munication. It may be considered an ill-natured at- 
tack upon the Catholic Church; but as I feel in- 
nocent of any such intention, this does not trouble 
me. But another consideration does. I have a 
strong liking to padres. I have received from them 
nothing but kindness, and wherever I have met with 
them I have found friends. I mean barely to men- 
tion the subject and pass on, though I am afraid that 
by this preface | am only calling more particular at- 

_tention toit. I would omit it altogether, but it forms 
so striking a feature in the state of society in that 
country, that no picture can be complete without it. 
Without farther preface, then, I mention, but only 
for the private ear of the reader, that, except at Mer- 
ida and Campeachy, where they are more immedi- 
ately under the eyes of the bishop, the padres through- 
out Yucatan, to relieve the tedium of convent life, 

have compagneras, or, as they are sometimes called, 
hermanas politicas, or sisters-in-law; or, to speak 
with the precision I particularly aim at, the propor- 
tion of those who have to those who have not is 

‘about as the proportion in a well-regulated commu- 
nity of married to unmarried men. 

I have now told the worst; the greatest enemy of 
the padres cannot say more. I do not express any 


116 INCIDENTS’ OF TRAVEL. 


opinion of my own upon this matter, but | may re- 
mark that with the people of the country it isno im- 
- peachment of a padre’s character, and does not im 
pair his usefulness. “Some look upon this arrange - 
ment as a little irregular, but in general it is regard- 
ed only as an amiable weakness, and I am safe in 
saying that it is considered a recommendation to 
a village padre, as it is supposed to give him set- 
tled habits, as marriage does with laymen, and, to 
give my own honest opinion, which I did not 
intend to do, it is less injurious to good morals 
than the by no means uncommon consequences 
of celibacy which are found in some other Catho 
lic countries. [he padre in Yucatan stands in the 
position of a married man, and performs all the du- . 
ties pertaining to the head of a family. _ Persons of 
what is considered respectable standing in a village 
do not shun left-hand marriage with a padre. Still 
it was to us always a matter of regret to meet with 
individuals of worth, and whom we could not help 
esteeming, standing in what could not but be con- 
sidered a false position. ‘T’o return to the case with 
which I set out: the padre in question was univer- 
sally spoken of as a man of good conduct, a sort of 
pattern padre for correct, steady habits; sedate, grave, 
and middle-aged, and apparently the last man to 
have had an eye for such a pretty compagnera. " 
The only comment I ever heard made was upon his 
good fortune, and on that point he knows my opinion. 

The next day Mr. Catherwood and Doctor Ca- 


ANCIENT CHRONOLOGY OF YUCATAN. 117 


bot arrived. Both had had a recurrence of fever, 
and were still very weak. In the evening was 
the carnival ball, but before the company had all ar- 
rived we were again scattered by the rain. All the 
next day it was more abundant than we had seen it 
in the country, and completely Gssinoyed all the apts 
posed gayeties of the carnival. 

We had one clear day, aa we devoted to ta- 
king Daguerreotype likenesses of the cura and two 
of the Mestizas; and, besides the great business of 
balls, bull-fights, Daguerreotyping, and superintend- 
ing the morals of the padres, I had some light read- 
ing in a manuscript entitled, “ Antigua Chronologia 
Yucateca,” “ Ancient Chronology of Yucatan ;_ or, 
a simple Exposition of the Method used by the In- 
dians to compute Time.” ‘This essay was presented 
to me by the author, Don Pio Perez, whom I had 
the satisfaction of meeting at this place. J had been 
advised that this gentleman was the best. Maya 
scholar in Yucatan, and that he was distinguished 
in the same degree for the investigation and study 
of all matters tending to elucidate the history of 
the ancient Indians. His attention was turned in 
this direction by the circumstance of holding an of- 
fice in the department of state, in which old docu- 
ments in the Maya language were constantly pass- 
ing under his eyes. Fortunately for the interests of 
science and his own studious tastes, on account of 
some political disgust he withdrew from public life, 
and, during two years of retirement, devoted him- 


118 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


self to the study of the ancient chronology of Yu- 
catan. It is a work which no ordinary man would 
have ventured to undertake ; and, if general reputa- 
tion be any proof, there was no man in the country 
so competent, or who could bring to it so much 
learning and research. It adds to the merit of his 
labours that, in prosecuting them, Don Pio stood 
alone, had none to sympathize with him, knew that 
the attainment of the most important results would 
not be appreciated, and had not even that hope of 
honourable distinction which, in the absence of all 
other prospects of reward, cheers the student in the 
solitary labours of his closet. 

The essay explains at large the principles imbod- 
ied in the calendar of the ancient Indians. It has 
been submitted for examination (with other inter- 
esting papers furnished me by Don Pio, which will 
be referred to hereafter) to a distinguished gentle- 
man, known by his researches into Indian languages 
and antiquities, and I am authorized to say that it 
furnishes a basis for some interesting comparisons 
and deductions, and is regarded as a valuable contri- 
bution to the cause of science. 

The essay of Don Pio contains calculations and 
details which would not be interesting to the gen- 
eral reader; to some, however, even these cannot 
fail to be so, and the whole is published in the Ap- 
pendix.* J shall refer in this place only to the result. 
From the examination and analysis made by the dis- 
tinguished gentleman before referred to, I am ena- 


* See Appendix to vol. i. 


' CALENDAR OF THE ANCIENT INDIANS. 119 


bled to state the interesting fact, that the calendar of 
Yucatan, though differmg in some particulars, was 
substantially the same with that of the Mexicans. 
It had a similar solar year of three hundred and 
sixty-five days, divided in the same manner, first, 
into eighteen months of twenty days each, with five 
supplementary days; and, secondly, into twenty- 
eight weeks of thirteen days each, with an addition- 
al day. It had the same method of distinguishing 
the days of the year by a combination of those two 
series, and the same cycle of fifty-two years, in 
which the years, as in Mexico, are distinguished by 
a combination of the same series of thirteen, with 
another of four names or hieroglyphics; but Don 
Pio acknowledges that in Yucatan there is no cer- 
tain evidence of the intercalation (similar to our leap 
year, or to the Mexican secular addition of thirteen 
days) necessary to correct the error resulting from 
counting the year as equal to three hundred and 
sixty-five days only. ' 

It will be seen, by reference to the essay, that, be- 
sides the cycle of fifty-two years common to the 
Yucatecans and Mexicans, and, as Don Pio Perez 
asserts (on the authority of Veytia), to the Indians 
of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Soconusco, those of Yuca- 
tan had another age of two hundred and sixty, or of 
three hundred and twelve years, equal to five or six 
cycles of fifty-two. years, each of which ages con- 
sisted of thirteen periods (called Ajau or Ajau Ka- 
tun) of twenty years each, according to many au- 


120 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


thorities, but, in Don Pio’s opinion, of twenty-four 
years. 

The fact that though the inhabitants of Yucatan 
and Mexico speak different languages, their calen- 
dar is substantially the same, I regard as extremely 
interesting and important, for this is not like a simi- 
larity of habits, which may grow out of natural in- 
stincts or identity of position. A calendar is a work 
of science, founded upon calculations, arbitrary signs, 
and symbols, and the similarity shows that both na- 
tions acknowledged the same starting points, attached 
the same meaning to the same phenomena and ob- 
jects, which meaning was sometimes arbitrary, and 
not such as would suggest itself to the untutored. It 
shows common sources of knowledge and processes 
of reasoning, similarity of worship and religious in- 
stitutions, and, in short, it is a link in a chain of evi- 
dence tending to show a. common origin in the ab- 
original inhabitants of Yucatan and Mexico. Tor 
this discovery we are indebted to Don Pio Perez. 


FINAL DEPARTURE FROM NOHCACAB. 121 


CHAPTER VIL 


Return to Nohcacab.—Final Departure from this Village.—An 
Indian Sexton.—Route.—“ Old Walls.”—Ruins of Sacbey.— 
Paved Road.—Journey continued.—Ruins of Xampon.—Impo- 
sing Edifice.—‘* Old Walls,” called by Indians Xlapphak.— 
Ruins of Hiokowitz and Kuepak.—Zekilna.—Altar for burning 
Copal.—Ancient Terrace.—Lofty stone Structure.—Remains of 
a Building.—Sculptured Stones.—Platform.—Rancho of Chun- 
huhu.—Become involuntary Masters of a Hut.—Its interior Ar- 
rangements.—Scarcity of Water.—Pressing Wants.—Visit to 
the Ruins.—Two Buildings.—Facade.—Ornamented Doorways. 
—Welcome Visiters.—Another Building.—Plastered Front.— 
A Building seen from the Terrace.—Visit to the Ruins of School- 
hoke.—Large stone Structure.—Ranges of Buildings.—Circu- 
lar Stone.—Ruined Edifice.—Representations of Human Fig- 
ures.—Return to the Rancho.—Benefits of a Rain. 


On the fourteenth of February we returned to 
Nohcacab. We had sent Albino before to make all 
our necessary arrangements, and on the fifteenth we 
took our final leave of this village. We had no 
regret ; on the contrary, it was pleasant to think that 
we should not return to it. Our luggage was again 
reduced to the smallest possible compass: hammocks, 
a few changes of clothes, and Daguerreotype appa- 
ratus, all the rest being forwarded to meet us at Peto 
The chief of our Indian carriers was a sexton, who 
had served out his time, an old neighbour in the con- 
vent, whom we had never seen sober, and who was 
this morning particularly the reverse. 

To understand our route it will be necessary for 


Vou. IL.—Q EE 


122 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


the reader to consult the map. On setting out our 
direction was again south, and again our road was 
over the sepulchres of cities. At the distance of 
two miles we saw “old walls” on an eminence at 
the right; a little farther three ruined buildings on 
the same side of the road; and beyond these we came 
to the ruins of Sacbey. ‘These consist of three build- 
ings, irregularly disposed, one of which is represent- 
ed in the engraving opposite. It faces the south, 
measures fifty-three feet front by twelve feet six 
inches deep, and has three small doorways. An- 
other, a little farther south, is about the size of the 
former, and has three apartments, with two columns 
in the centre doorway. ‘The third is so ruined that 
its plan could not be made out. 

Near as they were to the village, the padrecito 
had never seen them. ‘They stand about a hundred 
feet from the path, but so completely buried among 
the trees, that, though I had visited them before un- 
der the guidance of an Indian, I passed now without 
observing them. 

A short distance beyond is one of the most in- 
teresting monuments of antiquity in Yucatan. It is 
a broken platform or roadway of stone, about eight 
fect wide and eight or ten inches high, crossing the 
road, and running off into the woods on both sides 
I have before referred to it as called by the Indians 
Sacbey, which means, in the Maya language, a paved 
way of pure white stone. ‘The Indians say it tray- 
ersed the country from Kabah to Uxmal; and that 


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INTERESTING MONUMENT OF ANTIQUITY. 123 


on it couriers travelled, bearing letters to and from 
the lords of those cities, written on leaves or the 
bark of trees. It was the only instance in which 
we had found among the Indians anything like a 
tradition, and the universality of this legend was il- 
lustrated by the circumstances attending our arrival. 
While we were standing upon the road, an old In- 
dian came up from the other direction, bending un- 
der a load, who, in crossing it, stopped, and, striking 
his stick against the stones, uttered the words Sac- 
bey, and Kabah, and Uxmal. Atthe same time our 
carriers came up, the old sexton at their head, who, 
depositing his burden upon the ancient road, repeat- 
ed Sacbey, and then favoured us with an oration, in 
which we could only distinguish Kabah and Uxmal. 
It had been my intention to explore thorough- 
ly the route of this ancient road, and, if possible, 
trace it through the woods to the desolate cities 
which it once connected, and it was among the 
vexations of our residence at Nohcacab that we had 
not been able todo so. The difficulty of procuring 
Indians to work, and a general recurrence of sick- . 
ness, rendered it impossible. We could not tell how ° 
much time might be required; the whole country * 
was overgrown with trees; in some places the track 
was but faintly marked, and in others it might be 
lost altogether. It remains, therefore, an unbroken 
ground for the future explorer. | 
Again passing “old walls” on each side of the 
road, at the distance of two leagues we reached 


124 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Xampon, where stand the remains of an edifice 
which, when entire, must have been grand and im- 
posing, and now, but for the world of ruins around, 
might excite a stranger’s wonder. Its form was 
rectangular, its four sides enclosing a hollow square. 
It measured from north to south eighty feet, and 
from east to west one hundred and five. ‘I'wo an- 
gles only remain, one of which is represented in the 
plate opposite. It stood alone, and an Indian had 
planted a milpa around it. From this “ old walls” 
were again visible, which the Indians called Kalu 
pok. 

Beyond we saw at a distance two other places, 
called Hiokowitz and Kuepak, ruined and difficult 
of access, and we did not attempt to reach them. 

It added to the effect of the ruins scattered in this 
region, that they were not on a camino real, but on 
a little-frequented milpa path, in some places so 
overgrown that we found it difficult to force a pas- 
sage. ‘The heat was intense; we exhausted. our 
waccals of water, and as there was no stream or 
fountain, our only chance of a supply was from a 
' deposite of rain-water in the hollow of some friend- 
ly rock. 

At two o'clock we reached a small clearing, in 
which stood an arbour of leaves, and under it a rude 
cross, facing the road; beyond, on the left, was an 
overgrown path, which, for the first time in many 
years, had been opened for me on a former occa- 
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RUINS OF ZEKILNA. 125 


This place had been the object of one of my 
pootless visits from Nohcacab. ‘The account I had 
heard was of an apartment containing an altar for 
burning copal, with traces of its use as left by the an- 
cient inhabitants.) When I had arrived where it 
was necessary to turn off, it was some time before the 
Indian could discover any signs of a path; and when 
found, he had to clear every step of the way. By 
that time my views on the subject of ruined cities 
had become practical, and, perceiving the discomfort 
and hardship that must attend an exploration in so 
desolate a place, I did most earnestly hope that the 
path would lead to nothing that might require a sec- 
ond visit. I dismounted, and leading my horse as 
the Indian cleared the way, we came to a broken, 
stony ascent, climbing up which I discovered that 
we were upon the top of an ancient terrace. A fine 
alamo tree was growing on the terrace, under which 
I tied my horse, and descending on the other side, 
we crossed a closely-wooded hollow, which, from 
the excessive heat, I supposed to be between two 
mounds. Ina few moments | found myself ascend- 
ing the side of a lofty stone structure, on the top of 
which were the remains of a large building, with its 
walls fallen, and the whole side of the mound strew- 
ed with sculptured stones, a scene of irrecoverable 
ruin. Descending on the other side of this struc- 
ture, we reached a broad platform, in a good state 
of preservation, with trees growing upon it, without 
brush or underwood, but so teeming with insects and 


126 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


large black ants that it was necessary to. step from 
stone to stone, and avoid touching the ground. 
_ Running off lengthwise from this terrace was a small 
building, which the Indian pointed out as. contain- 
ing the altar and copal. Passing the first door, he 
went on to the second, put his head in cautiously, 
and, without entering, drew back. Going in, I found 
an apartment differing in nothing from the most or- 
dinary we had seen in the country. For some time 
[ could not get the Indian to enter, and when he did, 
standing in the doorway, and looking around cau- 
tiously, he waved his finger horizontally, according 
to the manner of the Indians, to indicate that there 
was nothing. Fortunately, however, I learned that 
the road we had left led to the ruins of Chun 
huhu; and it shows the difficulty I had in ascertain- 
ing the juxtaposition of places, that though this was 
one of the places which I intended to visit, until 
this man mentioned it J had not been able to learn 
that it lay in the same neighbourhood. I determin- 
ed at once to continue on, and it was what I saw on 
that occasion that now put our whole body in mo- 
tion in this direction. | 

To return. It was late in the afternoon when we 
reached the savanna of Chunhuhu, and rode up to 
the hut at which I had tied my horse on my former 
visit. 

The hut was built of upright poles, had a steep 
projecting roof thatched with palm leaves, and the 
sides protected by the same material ; as we stopped 


A WELL-STORED HUT. A 4 4 


m front, we saw a woman within mashing maize for 
tortillas, which promised a speedy supper. She said 
her husband was away; but this made no differ- 
ence to us, and, after a few more words, we all en- 
tered, the woman at the moment bolting for the door, 
and leaving us in exclusive possession. Very soon, 
however, a little boy, about eight years old, came 
down and demanded the maize, which we were loth 
to give up, but did not consider ourselves authorized 
to retain.. Albino followed him, in hopes of persua- 
ding the woman to return; but as soon as she caught — 
a glimpse of him she ran into the woods. 

The hut of which we thus became the sudden 
and involuntary masters was furnished with three 
stones for a fireplace, a wooden horse for kneading 
maize upon, a.comal for baking tortillas, an earth- 
en olla, or pot, for cooking, three or four waccals, 
or gourds, for drinking-cups, and two small Indian 
hammocks, which also were demanded and given 
up. Besides these, there was a circular dining-ta- 
ble about a foot and a half in diameter, supported 
by three pegs about eight inches high, and some 
blocks of wood about the same height for seats. 
Overhead, suspended from the rafters, were three 
large bundles of corn in the husk and two of beans 
in the pod; and on each string, about a foot above 
these eatables, was half a calabash or squash, with 
the rounded side up, like the shade over a lamp, 
which, besides being ornamental, filled the office of 
a rat-trap; for these vermin, in springing from the 


128 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


rafters to reach the corn and beans, would strike 
upon the calabash, and fall to the ground. 

Being provided for ourselves, we next looked to 
our horses. ‘There was no difficulty about their 
food, for a supply of corn had fallen into our hands, 
and the grass on the savanna was the best pasture 
we had seen in the country ; but we learned, to our 
dismay, from the little boy, who was the only person 
we saw, that there was no water. The place was 
worse supplied than any we had yet visited. ‘There 
was neither well, cueva, nor aguada, and the inhabi- 
tants depended entirely upon the rain-water collect- 
ed in the hollows of the rocks. As to a supply for 
four horses, it was utterly out of the question. Any 
long stay at this place was, of course, impossible ; 
but immediate wants were pressing. Our horses 
had not touched water since morning, and, after a 
long, hot, and toilsome journey, we could not think 
of their going without all night. 

The little boy was hovering about the rancho in 
charge of a naked sister some two years old, and 
commissioned, as he told us himself, to watch that 
we did not take anything from the hut. For a me- 
dio he undertook to show me the*place where they 
procured water, and, mounting his little sister upon 
his back, he led the way up a steep and stony hill 
I followed with the bridle of my horse in my hand, 
and, without any little girl on my back, found it dif- 
ficult to keep up with him. On the top of the hil! 
were worn and naked rocks, with deep hollows in 


PRESSING WANTS. 129 


them, some holding perhaps as much as one or two 
pails of water. I led my horse to one of the lar- 
gest. He was always an extraordinary water drink- 
er, and that evening was equal to a whole temper- 
ance society. ‘The little Indian looked on as if he 
had sold his birthright, and I felt strong compunc- 
tions; but, letting the morrow take care of itself, I 
sent up the other horses, which consumed at a sin- 
gle drinking what might, perhaps, have sufficed the 
family a month. 

In the mean time our own wants were not slight. 
We had been on the road all day, and had eaten 
nothing. Unluckily, the old sexton had taken for 
his load the box containing our table furniture and 
provisions for the road, and we had not seen him 
since we left him at Sacbey. All the other carriers 
had arrived. I had hired them to remain with us 
and work at the ruins, and then carry the luggage 
to the next village. Part of my contract was to 
feed them, and, knowing the state of things, they 
scattered in search of supplies, returning, after a 
long absence, with some tortillas, eggs, and lard. 
We had the eggs fried, and would, perhaps, have 
been content but for our vexation with the sexton. 
While we were swinging in our hammocks, we 
heard his voice at a distance, and presently he enter- 
ed in the best humour possible, and holding up his 
empty bottle in triumph. 

The next morning at daylight we sent Albino 


Vou. I1.-—R 


130 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 
3 


with the Indians to begin clearing around the ruins, 
and after breakfast we followed. ‘The path lay 
through a savanna covered with long grass, and at 
the distance of a mile we reached two buildings, 
which I had seen before, and were the inducement 
to this visit. 

The first is that represented in the plate opposite. 
It stands on a substantial terrace, but lower than 
most of the others. The front is one hundred and 
twelve feet long, and when entire must have pre- 
sented a grand appearance. ‘The end on the left in 
the engraving has fallen, carrying with it one door- 
way, so that now only four appear. ‘T‘he doorway 
was the largest and most imposing we had seen in 
the country, but, unfortunately, the ornaments over 
it were broken and fallen. In the centre apartment 
the back corridor is raised, and the ascent to it is 
by three steps. 

All the doorways were plain except the. centre 
one (the second to the left in the engraving), which 








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WELCOME VISITERS. 131 


is represented in the plate opposite. It is in a dilap- 
idated condition, but still presents bold and striking 
ornaments. Even on this scale, however, the details 
of the sitting figures above the cornice do not appear. 
_ While we were engaged in making a clearing in 
front of this building, two young men came down 
upon the terrace from the corner that was fallen, and 
apparently from the top of the building, with long 
guns, the locks covered with deer-skin, and all the 
accoutrements of cacadores, or hunters. ‘I‘hey were 
tall, fine-looking fellows, fearless and frank in ap- 
pearance and manner. Dr. Cabot’s gun was the 
first object that attracted their attention, after which 
they laid down their guns, and, as if for the mere 
sport of swinging their machetes, were soon fore- 
most in making the clearing. When this was fin- 
ished, Mr. C. sat up his camera lucida, and though 
at first all gathered round, in a few minutes he was 
left with only the two brothers, one of them holding 
over him an umbrella to protect him from the sun. 
Except the little boy and the woman, these were 
the first persons we had seen within speaking dis- 
tance. We were so pleased with their appearance 
that we proposed to one of them to accompany us 
in our search after ruins. The elder was quite ta- 
ken with the idea of rambling, but soon said, with 
a rather disconsolate tone, that he had a wife and 
children. His hermanito, or younger brother, how- 
ever, had no such ties, and would go with us. We 
_made an agreement on the spot; and nothing can 


132 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


show more plainly the sense which we entertained 
of the security of travelling in Yucatan. In Cen- 
tral America we never dared to take a man into our 
service without strong recommendations, for he 
might be a robber or an assassin. ‘These men we 
had never heard of till they came upon us with their 
guns. Their manly bearing as hunters inspired 
confidence, and the only suspicious circumstance 
was that they were willing to take us without ref- 
erences; but we found afterward that they had both 
known us at Nohcacab. The one whom we en- 
gaged was named Dimas, and he continued with us 
until we left the country. 

On the same line, and but a short distance re- 
moved, though on a lower terrace, is another build- 
ing, measuring eighty-five feet in front, which is rep- 
resented in the plate opposite. It had a fresh- 
ness about it that suggested the idea of something 
more modern than the others. The whole was cov- 
ered with a coat of plaster but little broken, and it 
confirmed us in the opinion we had entertained be- 
fore, that the fronts of all the buildings had been thus 
covered. 

Our meeting with these young men was a fortu- 
nate circumstance for us in exploring these ruins. 
From boyhood their father had had his rancho on 
the savanna, and with their guns they had ranged 

over the whole country for leagues around. 

From the terrace of the first building we saw at 
a distance a high hill, almost a mountain, on the top 


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VISIT TO THE RUINS OF SCHOOLHOKE. 133 


of which rose a wooded elevation surrounding an 
ancient building. ‘There was something extraordi- 
nary in its position, but the young men told us it 
was entirely ruined, and, although it was then but 
eleven o'clock, if we attempted to go to it, we could 
notreturn till after dark. They told us, also, of oth- 
ers at the distance of half a league, more extensive, © 
and some of which, they said, were, in finish and 
preservation, equal to these. 

At one o'clock Doctor Cabot and myself, under 
the guidance of Dimas, set out to look for them. 
Tt was desperately hot. We passed several huts, 
and at one of them asked for some water; but it 
was so full of insects that we could barely taste it. 
Dimas led us to the hut of his mother, and gave us 
some from a vessel in which the insects had settled 
to the bottom. | 

Beyond this we ascended the spur of a high hill, 
and coming down into a thickly-wooded valley, af- 
ter the longest half league we ever walked, we saw 
through the trees a large stone structure. On reach- 
ing it, and climbing over a broken terrace, we came 
to a large mound faced on all sides with stone, which 
we ascended, and crossing over the top, looked down 
upon an overgrown area, having on each side a 
range of ruined buildings, with their white facades 
peering through the trees; and beyond, at a distance, 
and seemingly inaccessible, was the high hill with 
the ruins on the top, which we had seen from the 
terrace of the first building. Hills rose around us 


IT Sip 


134 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


on every side, and, for that country, the scene was — 
picturesque, but all waste and silent. The stillness 
of the grave rested upon the ruins, and the notes of 
a little flycatcher were the only sounds we heard. 

The ruins in sight were much more extensive 
than those we had first visited, but in a more ruin- 
ous condition. We descended the mound to the 
area in front, and, bearing down the bushes, passed 
in the centre an uncouth, upright, circular stone, like 
that frequently referred to before, called the picote, 
or whipping-post, and farther on we reached an ed- 
ifice, which Mr. Catherwood afterward drew, and 
which is represented in the engraving opposite. It 
is thirty-three feet in front, and has two apartments, 
each thirteen feet long by eight feet six inches deep, 
and conspicuous in the facade are representations of 
three uncouth human figures, in curious dresses, with 
their hands held up by the side of the head, support- 
ing the cornice. 

These ruins, Dimas told us, were called School- 
hoke, but, like the others, they stand on what is call- 
ed the savanna of Chunhuhu; and the ruined build- 
ing on the top of the hill, visible from both places, 
seems towering as a link to connect them together. 
What the extent of this place has been it is impos- 
sible to say. Returning, overtaken by night, and in 
apprehension of rain, we were an hour and a half, 
which would make the two, by the path we took, 
at least five miles apart, though much nearer:in a 
straight line. Supposing the two piles of ruins to 









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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BENEFITS OF A RAIN. 135 


have formed part of the same city, there is reason to 
believe that it once covered as much ground and 
contained as many inhabitants as any that has yet 
been presented. 

The first intelligence I received of the -xistence 
of these ruins was from Cocom, who, the reader may 
remember, was our guide at Nohpat; and this is all 
that I am able to communicate in regard to their 
history. 

We returned to the rancho worn down with fa- 
tigue, just in time to escape a violent rain. This 
brought within, as an accompaniment to the fleas of 
the night before, our carriers and servants, and we 
had eleven hammocks, in close juxtaposition, and 
through the night a concert of nasal trombones, 
with Indian variations. ‘The rain continued all the 
next day, and as no work could be done, Mr. Cather- 
wood took advantage of the opportunity to have an- 
other attack of fever. We were glad of it on an- 
other account, for we had kept a man constantly 
employed in the woods searching for water; our 
horses had exhausted all the rocky cavities around, 
and we could not have held out another day. The 
rain replenished them, and relieved us from some 
compunctions. 

In the afternoon the little boy came down with a 
message from his mother, desiring to know when we 
were going away. Perhaps the reader is curious to 
know the costume of boys at Chunhuhu. It con- 
sists of a straw hat and a pair of sandals. ‘[his one 


136 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


had, besides, some distinguishable spots of dirt, and 
Mr. Catherwood made a drawing of him as he 
stood. Soon afterward the poor woman herself 
was seen hovering about the house. She con- 
sidered that it was really time to come. We had. 
made a great inroad upon her provisions; given the 
corn to our horses, and cooked the frigoles ; but the 
special cause of her coming was to return a medio, 
which she said was bad. She was mild, amiable, 
and simple as a child; complained that we said we 
were only going to remain one night, and now she 
did not know when we were going away. With 
great difficulty, we prevailed upon her to enter the 
hut, and told her she might return whenever she 
pleased. She laughed good-naturedly, and, after 
looking round carefully to see that nothing was miss- 
ing, went away comforted by our promise to depart 
he next day. 


JOURNEY TO BOLONCHEN. 137 


CHAPTER. VIII. 


Journey to Bolonchen. —Bad Road. — Large Hacienda. — Impo- 
sing Gateway.—An inhospitable Host.—Ruins of Ytsimpte.— 
Ruined Edifice. — Staircase with sculptured Stones. — Square 
Building. — Fagade decorated with Pillars.—Ruined Walls.— 
Remains of a sculptured Figure.—Character and Aspect of 
the Ruins.—Departure. — Arrival at the Village of Bolonchen. 
—Scene of Contentment.—Wells.—Derivation of the Word Bo- 
lonchen.—Origin of the Wells unknown.—The Cura.—Visit to 
an extraordinary Cave.—Entrance to it.—Precipitous Descents. 
—A wild Scene.—Rude Ladders.—Dangers of the Descent.— 
Indian Name of this Cave.—A subterranean Ball-room.—Cavy- 
ernous Chamber.— Numerous Passages. — Great Number of 
Ladders.—Rocky Basin of Water.—Great Depth of the Cave. 
—A Bath in the Basin.—Its Indian Name.—Return to the 
Rocky Chamber.—Exploration of another Passage.—Another 
Basin.— Indian Stories.—Two other Passages and Basins.— 
Seven Basins in all.—Indian Names of the remaining five.— 
Want of Philosophical Instruments. — Surface of the Country. 
—This Cave the sole Watering-place of a large Indian Village 
—Return.—Visit to the Cura.—Report of more Ruins. 


Ar daylight the next morning the woman was on 
the spot to remind us of our promise. We gave her 
a cup of coffee, and with a small present, which 
amply satisfied her for our forcible occupation of 
her hut, left her again in possession. 

Our party this morning divided into three parcels. 
‘he carriers set out direct for Bolonchen; Mr 
Catherwood went, under the guidance of Dimas, to 
make a drawing of the last building, and Doctor 
Cabot, myself,,and Albino to visit another ruined 

Vo.. IL—S 


138 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


city, all to meet again at Bolonchen in the even- 
ing. 

Doctor Cabot and myself were warned that the 
path we proposed taking was not passable on horse- 
back. For the first league our arms and legs were 
continually scratched and torn by briers, and only 
our hats saved us from the fate of Absalom. In that 
hot climate, it was always uncomfortable to tie 
the sombrero under the chin; and there were few 
things more annoying than to have it knocked off 
every five minutes, and be obliged to dismount and 
pick it up. Our Indian guide moved easily on foot, 
just clearing the branches on each side and over- 
head. We had one alternative, which was to dis- 
mount and lead our horses; but, unused to having 
favours shown them, they pulled back, so that the 
labour of dragging them on added greatly to the fa- 
tigue of walking. 

Emerging from this tangled path, we came out 
upon a large hacienda, and stopped before an im- 
posing gateway, under the shade of great seybo 
trees, within which were large and well-filled water- 
tanks. Our horses had drunk nothing since the af- 
ternoon before; we therefore dismounted, loosened 
the saddle girths, and, as a matter of form, sent Al- 
bino to ask permission to water them, who returned 
with the answer that we might for a real. At 
Chunhuhu it always cost us more than this in the la- 
bour of Indians; but the demand seemed so churlish 
at the gate of this large hacienda, that we refused to 


RUINS. OF YTSIMPTE. 139 


pay, and again mounted. Albino told us that we 
might save a slight circuit by passing through the 
cattle-yard ; and we rode through, close beside the 
water-tanks and a group of men, at the head of 
whom was the master, and, coming out upon the 
camino real, shook from off our feet the dust of 
the inhospitable hacienda. Our poor horses bore 
the brunt of sustaining our dignity. 

At one o'clock we came to a rancho of Indians, 
where we bought some tortillas and procured a 
guide. Leaving the camino real, we turned again 
into a milpa path, and in about an hour came in 
sight of another ruined city, known by the name of 
Ytsimpte. From the plain on which we approached 
we saw on the left, on the brow of a hill, a range 
of buildings, six or eight hundred feet in length, all 
laid bare to view, the trees having just been felled; 
and as we drew near we saw Indians engaged in 
continuing the clearing. On arriving at the foot of 
the buildings, Albino found that the clearing was 
made by order of the alcalde of Bolonchen, at the in- 
stance and under the direction of the padre, in ex- 
pectation of our visit and for our benefit ! 

We had another subject of congratulation on ac- 
count of our horses. ‘T‘here was an aguada in the 
neighbourhood, to which we immediately sent them, 
and, carrying our traps up to the terrace of the near- 
est building, we sat down before it to meditate and 
lunch. 

This over, we commenced a survey of the ruins. 


140 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The clearings made by our unknown friends enabled 
us to form at once a general idea of their character 
and extent, and to move from place to. place with 
comparative facility. ‘[‘hese ruins lie in the village 
of Bolonchen, and the first apartment we entered 
showed the effects of this vicinity. All the smooth 
stones of the inner wall had been picked out and 
carried away for building purposes, and the. sides 
presented the cavities in the bed of mortar from 
which they had been taken. ‘The edifice was about 
two hundred feet long. It had one apartment, per- 
haps sixty feet long, and a grand staircase twen- 
ty feet wide rose in the centre to the top. This 
staircase was in a ruinous condition, but the outer 
stones of the lower steps remained, richly ornament- 
ed with sculpture; and probably the whole casing 
on each side had once possessed the same rich deco - 
ration. 

Beyond this was another large building, square 
and peculiar in its plan. At the extreme end the 
whole facade lay unbroken on the ground, held 
together by the great mass of mortar and stones, 
and presenting the entire line of pillars with which 
it had been decorated. In the doorway of an 
inner apartment was an ornamented pillar, and 
on the walls was the print of the mysterious red 
hand. Turn which way we would, ruin was be- 
fore us. At right angles with the first building 
was a line of ruined walls, following which I 
passed, lying on the ground, the headless trunk 


ARRIVAL AT BOLONCHEN. 141 


of a sculptured body; the legs, too, were gone. 
At the end was an arch, which seemed, at a dis- 
tance, to stand entire and alone, like that named 
the arch of triumph at Kabah ; but it proved to be 
only the open and broken arch of a ruined building. 
From the extent of these remains, the masses of 
sculptured stones, and the execution of the carving, 
this must have been one of the first class of the ab- 
original cities. In moral influence there was none 
more powerful. Ruin had been so complete that 
we could not profit by the kindness of our friends, 
and it was melancholy that when so much had been 
done for us, there was so little for us to do. It was 
but another witness to the desolation that had swept 
over the land. 

A short ride brought us to the suburbs of the village 
of Bolonchen, and we entered a long street, with a 
line of straggling houses or huts on each side. It was 
late in the afternoon. Indian children were playing 
in the road, and Indians, returned from their work, 
were swinging in hammocks within the huts. As we 
advanced, we saw a vecino, with a few neighbours 
around him, sitting in the doorway thrumming a gui- 
tar. It was, perhaps, a scene of indolence, but it was 
one of quiet‘and contentment, of comfort and even 
thrift. Often, in entering the disturbed villages of 
Central America, among intoxicated Indians and 
swaggering white men, all armed, we felt a degree of 
uneasiness. ‘The faces that looked upon us seemed 
scowling and suspicious; we always apprehended 


142 INCIDENTS’ OF TRAVEL. 


insult, and frequently were not disappointed. Here 
all looked at us with curiosity, but without distrust ; 
every face bore a welcome, and, as we rode through, 
all gave us a friendly greeting. At the head of the 
street the plaza opened upon us on a slight eleva- 
tion, with groups of Indian women in the centre 
drawing water from the well, and relieved against a 
background of green hills rising above the tops of 
the houses, which, under the reflection of the setting 
sun, gave a beauty and picturesqueness of aspect 
that no other village in the country had exhibited. 
On the left, on a raised platform, stood the church, 
and by its side the convent. In consideration of 
what the cura had already done for us, and that we 
had a large party—perceiving, also, that the casa 
real, a long stone building with a broad portico in 
front, was really inviting in its appearance, we re- 
solved to spare the cura, and rode up to the casa 
real. Well-dressed Indians, with a portly, well-fed 
cacique, stood ready to take our horses. We dis- 
mounted and entered the principal apartment. On 
one side were the iron gratings of the prison, and 
on the other two long beams of wood with holes in 
them for stocks, and a caution to strangers arriving 
in the village to be on their good behaviour. Our 
carriers had arrived. We sent out to buy ramon 
and corn for the horses, had our hammocks swung, 
and sat down under the corridor. 

We had hardly time to seat ourselves before the 
vecinos, in their clean afternoon clothes, and some 


WELLS OF BOLONCHEN. 143 


with gold-headed canes, came over to “call upon 
us.” All were profuse in offers of services; and as 
it was the hour for that refreshment, we had a per- 
plexing number of invitations to go to their houses 
and take chocolate. Among our visiters was a young 
man with a fine black beard all over his face, well 
dressed, and the only one wearing a black hat, whom, 
as we knew they were about drilling companies in 
the villages to resist the apprehended invasion of 
Santa Ana, we supposed to belong to the army, but 
we afterward learned that he was a member of the 
church militant, being the ministro, or assistant, of the 
cura. ‘I'he cura himself did not come, but one of 
our visiters, looking over to the convent, and seeing 
the doors and windows closed, said he was still ta- 
king his siesta. 

We had time to look at the only objects of inter- 
est in the village, and these were the wells, which, 
after our straits at Chunhuhu, were a refreshing spec- 
tacle, and of which our horses had already enjoyed 
the benefit by a bath. 

Bolonchen derives its name from two Maya 
words : Bolon, which signifies nine, and chen, wells, 
and it means the nine wells. From time immemo- 
rial, nine wells formed at this place the centre of a 
population, and these nine wells are now in the pla- 
za of the village. ‘I‘heir origin is as obscure and un- 
known. as that of the ruined cities which strew the 
land, and as little thought of. 

These wells were circular openings cut through 


144 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


a stratum of rock. The water was at that time) <¢is 
or twelve feet from the surface, and in all it was at 
the same level. The source of this water is a 
mystery to the inhabitants, but there are some facts 
which seem to make the solution simple. ‘The 
wells are mere perforations through an irregular stra- 
tum of rock, all communicate, and in the dry season 
a man may descend in one and come out by anoth- 
er at the extreme end of the plaza; it is manifest, 
therefore, that the water does not proceed from 
springs. Besides, the wells are all full during the 
rainy season; when this is over the water begins to 
disappear, and in the heat of the dry season it fails 
altogether ; from which it would appear that un- 
der the surface there is a great rocky cavern, into 
which the floods of the rainy season find a way by 
crevices or other openings, which cannot be known 
without a survey of the country, and, having little or 
no escape, are retained, and furnish a supply so long 
as they are augmented by the rains. 

The custody and preservation of these wells form 
a principal part of the business of the village author- 
ities, but, with all their care, the supply lasts but sev- 
en or eight months in the year. ‘This year, on ac- 
count of the long continuance of the rainy season, it 
had lasted longer than usual, and was still abundant. 
The time was approaching, however, when these 
wells would fail, and the inhabitants be driven to an 
extraordinary cueva at half a league from the village 

At about dark Mr. Catherwood arrived, and we 


VISIT TO AN EXTRAORDINARY CAVE. 145 


returned to the casareal. In a room fifty feet long, 
free from fleas, servants, and Indian carriers, and 
with a full swing for our hammocks, we had a hap- 
py change from the hut at Chunhuhu. 

During the evening the cura came over to see us, 
but, finding we had retired, did not disturb us ; early 
in the morning he was rapping at our door, and 
would not leave us till we promised to come over 
and take chocolate with him. 

As we crossed the plaza he came out to meet us, 
in black gown and cape, bare-headed, with white 
hair streaming, and both arms extended; embraced 
us all, and, with the tone of a man who considered 
that he had not been treated well, reproached us for 
not coming directly to the convent; then led us in, 
showed us its comforts and conveniences, insisted 
upon sending for our luggage, and only consented 
to postpone doing so while we consulted on our 
plans. 

These were, to leave Bolonchen in the afternoon 
for the ruins of San Antonio, four leagues distant. 
The cura had never heard of such ruins, and did 
not believe that any existed, but he knew the haci- 
enda, and sent out to procure information. In the 
mean time it was arranged that we should employ 
the morning in a visit to the cueva, and return to 
dine with him. He reminded us that it was Friday, 
and, consequently, fast day ; but, knowing the pa- 
dres as we did, we had no apprehension. 

There was one great difficulty in the way of our 


II 13 


146 INCIDENTS OF 'TRAVEL. 


visiting the cueva at this time. Since the com- 
mencement of the rainy season it had not been 
' used; and every year, before having recourse to it, 
there was a work of several days to be done in re- 
pairing the ladders. As this, however, was our only 
opportunity, we determined to make the attempt. 

The cura undertook to make the arrangements, 
and after breakfast we set out, a large party, inclu- 
ding both Indians and vecinos. 

At the distance of half a league from the village, 
on the Campeachy road, we turned off by a well-. 
beaten path, following which we fell into a winding 
lane, and, descending gradually, reached the foot of 
a rude, lofty, and abrupt opening, under a bold ledge 
of overhanging rock, seeming a magnificent entrance 
to a great temple for the worship of the God of Na- 
ture. The engraving which follows represents this 
aperture, an Indian with a lighted. torch being seen 
just entering. 

We disencumbered ourselves of superfluous ap- 
parel, and, following the Indian, each with a torch 
in hand, entered a wild cavern, which, as we ad- 
‘vanced, became darker. At the distance of sixty 
paces the descent was precipitous, and we went 
down by a ladder about twenty feet. Here all light 
from the mouth of the cavern was lost, but we soon 
reached the brink of a great perpendicular descent, 
to the very bottom of which a strong body of light 
was thrown from a hole in the surface, a perpen- 
dicular depth, as we afterward learned by measure- 


A WILD SCENE. 147 


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ment, of two hundred and ten feet. As we stood 
on the brink of this precipice, under the shelving of 
an immense mass of rock, seeming darker from the 
stream of light thrown down the hole, gigantic sta- 
- lactites and huge blocks of stone assumed all man- 


148 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ner of fantastic shapes, and seemed like monstrous 
animals or deities of a subterranean world. 

From the brink on which we stood an enormous 
ladder, of the rudest possible construction, led to the 
bottom of the hole. It was between seventy and 
eighty feet long, and about twelve feet wide, made of 
the rough trunks of saplings lashed together length- 
wise, and supported all the way down by horizontal 
trunks braced against the face of the precipitous 
rock. ‘The ladder was double, having two sets or 
flights of rounds, divided by a middle partition, and 
the whole fabric was lashed together by withes. It 
was very steep, seemed precarious and insecure, and 
confirmed the worst accounts we had heard of the 
descent into this remarkable well. 

Our Indians began the descent, but the fore- 
most had scarcely got his head below the surface 
before one of the rounds slipped, and he only saved 
himself by clinging to another. The ladder having 
been made when the withes were green, these were 
now dry, cracked, and some of them broken. We 
attempted a descent with some little misgivings, but 
by keeping each hand and foot on a different round, 
with an occasional crash and slide, we all reached 
the foot of the ladder; that is, our own party, our 
Indians, and some three or four of our escort, the 
rest having disappeared. 

The plate opposite represents the scene at the 
foot of this ladder. Looking up, the view of its bro- 
ken sides, with the light thrown down from the orifice 










































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A SUBTERRANEAN BALL-ROOM. 149 


above, was the wildest that can be conceived. As 
yet the reader is only at the mouth of this well; but, 
to explain to him briefly its extraordinary charac- 
ter, I give its name, which is Xtacumbi Xunan. 
The Indians understand by this La Sefiora escondi- 
da, or the lady hidden away ; and it is derived from 
a fanciful Indian story that a lady stolen from her 
mother was concealed by her lover in this cave. 

Every year, when the wells in the plaza are about 
to fail, the ladders are put into a thorough state of 
repair. A day is appointed by the municipality for 
closing the wells in the plaza, and repairing to the cu- 
eva; and on that day a great village féte is held in the 
cavern at the foot of this ladder. On the side lead- 
ing to the wells is a rugged chamber, with a lofty 
overhanging roof and a level platform ; the walls of 
this rocky chamber are dressed with branches and 
hung with lights, and the whole village comes out 
with refreshments and music. ‘The cura is: with 
them, a leader of the mirth; and the day is passed 
in dancing in the cavern, and rejoicing that when 
one source of supply fails another is opened to their 
need, 

The engraving which follows will give some 
imperfect idea of a section of this cave from the 
entrance to the foot of the great ladder, with the or- 
ifice through which the light descends from above, 
and the wild path that leads deeper into the bowels 
of the rock and down to the water. 

On one side of the cavern is an opening in the 





150 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 

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on. 


rock, as shown in the engraving, entering by which, 
we soon came to an abrupt descent, down which was 
another long and trying ladder. It was laid against 
the broken face of the rock, not so steep as the first, 
but in a much more rickety condition ; the rounds 
were loose, and the upper ones gave way on the 
first attempt to descend. ‘The cave was damp, and 
the rock and the ladder were wet and slippery. At 
this place the rest of our attendants left us, the min- 
istro being the last deserter. It was evident that 


! 


LABORIOUS DESCENT 164 


the labour of exploring this cave was to be greatly 
increased by the state of the ladders, and there might 
be some danger attending it, but, even after all that 
we had seen of caves, there was something so wild 
and grand in this that we could not bring ourselves 
to give up the attempt. Fortunately, the cura had 
taken care to provide us with rope, and, fastening 
one end round a large stone, an Indian carried the 
other down to the foot of the ladder. We followed, 
one ata time; holding the rope with one hand, and 
with the other grasping the side of the ladder, it 
was impossible to carry a torch, and we were obliged 
to feel our way in the dark, or with only such light as 
could reach us from the torches above and below. At 
the foot of this ladder was a large cavernous cham- 
ber, from which irregular passages led off in differ- 
ent directions to. deposites or sources of water. 
Doctor Cabot and myself, attended by Albino, took 
one of the passages indicated by the Indians, of 
which some imperfect idea is given in the section. 
Moving on by a slight ascent over the rocks, at 
the distance of about seventy-five feet we came to 
the foot of a third ladder nine feet long, two or 
three steps beyond another five feet high, both 
which we had to go up, and six paces farther a fifth, 
descending, and eighteen feet in length. A little 
beyond we descended another ladder eleven feet 
long, and yet a little farther on we came to one— 
the seventh—the length and general appearance of 
which induced us to pause and consider. By this 


152 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


time Albino was the only attendant left. This long 
ladder was laid on a narrow, sloping face of rock, 
protected on one side by a perpendicular wall, but at 
the other open and precipitous. Its aspect was un- 
propitious, but we determined to go on. Holding 
by the side of the ladder next the rock, we descend- 
ed, crashing and carrying down the loose rounds, so 
that when we got to the bottom we had cut off all 
communication with Albino; he could not descend, 
and, what was quite as inconvenient, we could not 
get back. It was now too late to reflect. We told 
Albino to throw down our torches, and go back for 
Indians and rope to haulus out. In the mean time 
we moved on by a broken, winding passage, and, at 
the distance of about two hundred feet, came to the 
top of a ladder eight feet long, at the foot of which 
we entered a low and stifling passage ; and crawling 
along this on our hands and feet, at the distance of 
- about three hundred feet we came to a rocky basin 
full of water. Before reaching it one of our torches 
had gone out, and the other was then expiring. From 
the best calculation [ can make, which is not far out 
of the way, we were then fourteen hundred feet 
from the mouth of the cave, and at a perpendicular 
depth of four hundred and fifty feet. As may be 
supposed from what the reader already knows of 
these wells, we were black with smoke, grimed with 
dirt, and dripping with perspiration. Water was 
the most pleasant spectacle that could greet our 
eyes; but it did not satisfy us to drink it only, we 


EXPLORATION OF ANOTHER PASSAGE. 153 


wanted a more thorough benefit. Our expiring 
torch warned us to forbear, for in the dark we 
might never be able to find our way back to upper 
earth ; but, trusting that if we did not reappear in 
the course of the week Mr. Catherwood would come 
to the rescue, we whipped off our scanty covering, 
and stepped into the pool. It was just large enough 
to prevent us from interfering with each other, and 
we achieved a bath which, perhaps, no white man 
ever before took at that depth under ground. 

The Indians call this basin Chacka, which means 
agua colorado, or red water; but this we did not 
know at the time, and we did not discover it, for to 
economize our torch we avoided flaring it, and it 
lay on the rock like an expiring brand, admonishing 
us that it was better not to rely wholly upon our 
friends in the world above, and that it would be 
safer to look out for ourselves. Hurrying out, we 
made a rapid toilet, and, groping our way back, with 
our torch just bidding us farewell, we reached the 
foot of the broken ladder, and could go no farther. 
Albino returned with Indians and ropes. We haul- 
ed ourselves up, and got back to the open chamber 
from which the passages diverged; and here the In- 
dians pointed out another, which we followed till it 
became lower than any we had yet explored; and, 
according to Doctor Cabot’s measurement, at the 
distance of four hundred and one paces, by mine, 
three hundred and ninety-seven, we came to anoth- 
er basin of water. This, as we afterward learned, 


Vou. I.—U 


154 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


is called Puouelha, meaning that it ebbs and flows 
like the sea. ‘The Indians say that it recedes with 
the south wind, and increases with the northwest ; 
and they add that when they go to it silently they 
find water; but when they talk or make a noise 
the water disappears. Perhaps it is not so capri- 
cious with white men, for we found water, and did 
not approach it with sealed lips. ‘The Indians say, 
besides, that forty women once fainted in this pas- 
sage, and that now they do not allow the wom- 
en to go ‘to it alone. In returning we turned 
off twice by branching passages, and reached two 
other basins of water; and when we got back to 
the foot of the great staircase, exhausted and almost 
worn out, we had the satisfaction of learning, from 
friends who were waiting to hear our report, that 
there were seven in all, and we had missed three. 
All have names given them by the Indians, two of 
which I have already mentioned. 

The third is called Sallab, which means a spring ; 
the fourth Akahba, on account of its darkness; the 
fifth Chocoha, from the circumstance of its being al- 
ways warm; the sixth Ooiha, from being of a milky 
colour; and the seventh Chimaisha, because it has 
insects called ais. 

It was a matter of some regret that we were not 
able to mark such peculiarities or differences as 
might exist in these waters, and particularly that we 
were not provided with barometer and thefmometer 
to ascertain the relative heights and temperatures. 


GREAT IMPORTANCE OF THIS CAVE. 155 
: 


If we had been at all advised beforehand, we should 
at least have carried the latter with us, but always 
in utter ignorance of what we were to encounter, 
our great object was to be as free as possible from 
all encumbrances; besides which, to tell the truth, 
we did some things in that country, among which 
was the exploring of these caves, for our own satis- 
faction, and without much regard to the claims of 
science. The surface of the country is of transition 
or mountain limestone; and though almost invaria- 
bly the case in this formation, perhaps here to a 
greater extent than anywhere else, it abounds in fis- 
sures and caverns, in which springs burst forth sud- 
denly, and streams pursue a subterranean course. 
But the sources of the water and the geological for- 
mation of the country were, at the moment, matters 
of secondary interest to us. ‘The great point was 
the fact, that from the moment when the wells in 
the plaza fail, the whole village turns to this cave, 
and four or five months in the year derives from this 
source its only supply. It was not, as at Xcoch, the 
resort of a straggling Indian, nor, as at Chack, of a 
small and inconsiderable rancho. It was the sole 
and only watering place of one of the most thriving 
villages in Yucatan, containing a population of sey- 
en thousand souls; and perhaps even this was sur- 
‘passed in wonder by the fact that, though for an un- 
known length of time, and through a great portion 
of the year, files of Indians, men and women, are 
going out every day with cantaros on their backs, 


156 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


and returning with water, and though the fame of 
the Cueva of Bolonchen extends throughout Yuca- 
tan, from the best information we could procure, not 
a white man in the village had ever explored it. 
We returned to the casa real, made a lavation, 
which we much needed, and went over to the cura’s 
to dine. If he had not reminded us beforehand that 
it was Friday and Lent, we should not have discov- 
ered it. In fact, we were not used to dainties, and 
perhaps the good cura thought we had never dined 
before. It was not in nature to think of moving that 
afternoon, and, besides, we were somewhat at a loss 
what todo. The cura had unsettled our plans. He 
had made inquiries, and been informed that there 
were no ruins at San Antonio, but only a cueva, and 
we had had enough of these to last us for some time ; 
moreover, he advised us of other ruins, of which we 
had not heard before. ‘These were on the rancho 
of Santa Ana, belonging to his friend Don Antonio 
Cerbera, the alcalde. Don Antonio had never seen 
them, but both he and the cura said they intended to 
visit them ; and they spoke particularly of a casa cer- 
rada, or closed house, which, as soon as the dry sea- 
son came on, they intended to visit con bombas, to 
blow it up! The cura was so bent upon our visit- 
ing this place, that almost in spite of ourselves we 
vere turned in that direction. 


DEPARTURE FROM BOLONCHEN. 157 


CHAPTER IX. , 


Departure from Bolonchen.—Lose the Road.—Sugar Rancho.—A 
new Section of Country.—Rancho of Santa Rosa.—Annoy- 
ance from Fleas.—Visit to the Ruins of Labphak.—A_ lofty 
Structure.—Apartments, &c.—Staircases.—Doorways.—Inter- 
esting Discovery.—Courtyard.—Square Building on the second 
Terrace.—Ornaments in Stucco.—Oblong Building on the third 
Terrace.—Colossal Figures and Ormaments.—Centre Apart- 
ment.—Tokens of recent Occupation.—Ground Plan of the low- 
er Range of Apartments.—Sculptured Bas-reliefs.—Builders 
adapted their Style to the Materials at Hand.—Abode at the 
Ruins.—Wants.—Moonlight Scene.—Painting.—Circular Holes. 
—Range of Buildings.—Staircases.—Ornaments in Stucco.— 

_ Rain.—Love of the Marvellous, 


Earty the next morning we resumed our journey. 
On leaving the village we were soon again in the 
wilderness. Albino remained behind to breakfast : 
we had not gone far before we came to a fork of the 
road, and took one of the branches, by which we 
missed our way, and rode on over a great plain cov- 
ered with bushes above our horses’ heads, the path 
finally becoming so completely choked up that it 
was impossible to continue. We turned back and 
took another; and, keeping as near as possible, by 
the compass, what we understood to be the direc- 
tion, came out upon a muddy aguada, covered with 
weeds, and beyond this a sugar rancho, the first we 
had seen in Yucatan, indicating that we were enter- 

IT 14 


158 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ing a different section of country. We had esca- 
ped the region of eternal stones, and the soil was 
rich and loamy. A league beyond this we reached 
the rancho of Santa Rosa. It was a very rare thing 
in this country to notice any place for its beauty of 
situation, but we were struck with this, though per- 
haps its beauty consisted merely in standing upon a 
slight elevation, and commanding a view of an open 
country. 

The major domo was somewhat surprised at the 
object of our visit. ‘The ruins were about two 
leagues distant, but he had never seen them, and 
had no great opinion of ruins generally. He imme- 
diately sent out, however, to notify the Indians to 
be on the ground in the morning, and during the 
evening he brought in one who was to be our guide. 
By way of getting some idea of the ruins, we 
showed him some of Mr. Catherwood’s drawings, 
and asked him if his bore any resemblance to them. 
He looked at them all attentively, and pointed to the 
blanks left for the doorways as the points of resem- 
blance ; from his manner we got the impression that 
we should have to thank the cura for a bootless 
visit. 

The night at this rancho was a memorable one. 
We were so scourged by fleas that sleep was im- 
possible. Mr. Catherwood and Dr. Cabot resorted 
to the Central American practice of sewing up the 
sheets into a bag, and all night we were in a fever. 

The next morning we started for the ruins of Lah- 


RUINS OF LABPHAK. 159 


phak, taking care to carry our luggage with us, and not 
intending, under any circumstances, to return. ‘The 
major domo accompanied us. It was luxurious to ride 
on a road free from stones. In an hour we entered 
a forest of fine trees, and a league beyond found a 
party of Indians, who pointed us to a narrow path 
just opened, wilder than anything we had yet travel- 
led. After following this some distance, the Indians © 
stopped, and made signs to us to dismount. Secu- 
ring the horses, and again following the Indians, in 
a few minutes we saw peering through the trees the 
white front of a lofty building, which, in the imper- 
fect view we had of it, seemed the grandest we had 
seen in the country. It had three stories, the up- 
permost consisting of a bare dead wall, without any 
doorways, being, the Indians told us, the casa cerra- 
da, or closed house, which the cura and alcalde 
intended to open con bombas. The whole build- 
ing, with all its terraces, was overgrown with gigan- 
tic trees. The Indians cutting a path along the 
front, we moved on from door to door, and wan- 
dered through its desolate chambers. For the first 
time in the country we found interior staircases, 
one of which was entire, every step being in its 
place. ‘The stones were worn, and we almost ex- 
pected to see the foot-prints of the former occu- 
pants. With hurried interest we moved on till we 
reached the top. This commanded an extensive 
view over a great wooded and desolate plain, to 
which the appearance pf the heavens gave at the 


160 “INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. , 


moment an air of additional dreariness. The sky 
was overcast, and portended the coming of another 
Norte. ‘The wind swept over the ruined building, 
so that in places we were obliged to cling to the 
branches of the trees to save ourselves from falling. 
An eagle stayed his flight through the air and hoy- 
ered over our heads. Ata great height Doctor Ca- 
- bot recognised it as one of a rare species, the first 
which he had seen in the country, and stood with his 
gun ready, hoping to carry it home with him as a 
memorial of the place ; but the proud bird soared 
away. 

It seemed almost salons to disturb the repose in 
which this building lay, and to remove its burial 
shroud, but soon, amid the ringing of the axe and 
machete, and the crash of falling trees, this feeling 
wore away. We had thirty Indians, who, working 
under the direction of the major domo, were equal 
to forty or fifty in our hands, and there was the 
most glorious excitement I had experienced in walk- 
ing along these terraces, with Albino and the ma- 
jor domo to convey my directions to the Indians. 
Indeed, I can hardly imagine a higher excitement 
than to go through that country with a strong 
force, time, and means at command, to lay bare the 
whole region in which so many ruined cities are 
now buried. 

In the mean time Mr. Catherwood, still an inva- 
lid, and deprived of sleep the night before, had his 
hammock slung in an apartment at the top of the 





A GRAND STRUCTURE. 161 


building. By afternoon the clearing was finished, 
and he made his drawing, which appears in the en- 
graving opposite. 

The lowest range or story is one hundred and 
forty-five feet in length. The roof and a portion 
of the facade have fallen, and almost buried the cen- 
tre doorways. ‘The apartments containing the stair- 
cases are indicated in a plan hereinafter presented. 
Each staircase consists of two flights, with a plat- 
form at the head of the first, which forms the foot 
of the second, and they lead out upon the roof, un- 
der the projection which stands like a watch-tower 
in the wall of the second range, and from this range 
two interior staircases lead out in the same way to 
the platform of the third. 

The reader will observe that in the second and 
third ranges there are no openings of any kind ex- 
cept those at the head of the staircases, but simply 
a plain, solid wall. At first sight of this wall we 
thought we had really at last found a casa cerrada, 
and almost wished for the cura with his bombas. 
The major domo, looking up at it, called it so; but 
it seemed strange that such a character had ever 
been ascribed to it; for, barely working our way 
round the platform of the terrace, we found ranges 
of doorways opening into apartments, and that this 
was merely what we had often seen before, a back 
wall without doors or windows. And we made an- 
other much more interesting and important discov- 
ery. ‘Ihe elevation which we came upon first, fa- 


Vou. I.—X 


162 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


cing the west, and shown in the engraving, noble 
and majestic as it was, was actually the rear of the 
building, and the front, facing the east, presented the 
tottering remains of the grandest structure that now 
rears its ruined head in the forests of Yucatan. 

In front was a grand courtyard, with ranges of 
ruined buildings, forming a hollow square, and in 
the centre a gigantic staircase rose from the court- 
yard to the platform of the third story. On the 
platform of the second terrace, at each end, stood a 
high square building like a tower, with the remains 
of rich ornaments in stucco; and on the platform 
of the third, at the head of the grand staircase, one 
on each side of it, stood two oblong buildings, their 
facades adorned with colossal figures and ornaments 
in stucco, seemingly intended as a portal to the 
structure on the top. In ascending the grand stair- 
case, cacique, priest, or stranger had before him this 
gorgeously ornamented portal, and passed through it 
to enter the centre apartment of the upper story. 

This apartment, however, does not correspond 
with the grandeur of the approach, and, according 
to our understanding of proprieties, the view of it is 
attended with disappointment. It is twenty-three 
feet long, only five feet six inches wide, and perfect- 
ly plain, without painting or ornament of any kind. 
But in this lofty chamber were strange memorials, 
tokens of recent occupation, indicating, amid the des- 
olation and solitude around, that within a few years 
this ruined edifice, from which the owners had per- 


GROUND PLAN OF THE LOWER RANGE. 163 


haps fled in terror, or been driven by the sword, had 
been the refuge and abode of man. In the holes 
of the archway were poles for the support of ham- 
mocks, and at each end were swinging shelves made 
of twigs and rods. When the cholera swept like a 
scourge over this isolated country, the inhabitants of 
the villages and ranchos fled for safety to the mount- 
ains and the wilderness. ‘This desolate building 
"was repeopled, this lofty chamber was the abode of 
some scared and stricken family, and here, amid 
hardships and privations, they waited till the angel 
of death passed by. 

The engraving which follows represents the 
ground-plan of the lower range. It consists of ran- 


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3 
it 
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3 
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50 40 30 20 10 18) 60 Keet 
1 _ u i Ee ees 


ges of narrow apartments on all four of the sides, 
opening outward, and the reader will see that it has 
fitness, and uniformity of design and proportion. 
The grand staircase, forty feet wide, is indicated in 
the engraving. The interior, represented in blank 


' 


164 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


forms the foundation for the support of the two up- 
per ranges. It is cut off and enclosed on all sides 
by the inner wall, has no communication with any 
of the apartments, and is apparently a solid mass. 
Whether it really is solid or contains apartments, 
remains, as in other structures of the same kind, 
a question for the investigation of future explorers. 
Under the circumstances attending our visit, we 
were utterly unable to attempt anything of the kind. 

The reader will notice in the plan two places 
marked “sculptured bas-reliefs.” In these places 
are carved tablets set in the wall, as at Palenque, 
and, except at Palenque, this was the only place in 
all our wanderings in which we found bas-reliefs 
thus disposed. We were now moving in the direc- 
tion of Palenque, though, of course, at a great dis- 
tance from it; the face of the country was less sto- 
ny, and the discovery of these bas-reliefs, and the in- 
crease and profusion of stuccoed ornaments, in- 
duced the impression that, in getting beyond the 
great limestone surface, the builders of these cities 
had adapted their style to the materials at hand, un- 
til, at Palenque, instead of putting up great facades 
of rudely-carved stone, they decorated the exterior 
with ornaments in stucco, and, having fewer carved 
ornaments, bestowed upon them more care and skill. 

The plate opposite represents the bas-reliefs re- 
ferred to. ‘Though resembling those at Palenque in 
general character and detail of ornament, they are 
greatly inferior in design and execution. Stand- 
ing in the outer wall, they are much defaced and 


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ABODE AT THE RUINS. 165 


worn; the tablets on the south, both in the drawing 
and Daguerreotype view, presented a confused ap- 
pearance. Both were composed of separate stones ; 
but the subjects on the different pieces appeared, in 
some cases, to want adaptation to each other, and 
almost suggested the belief that they were fragments 
of other tablets, put together without much regard 
to design of any kind. 

Night was almost upon us when Albino inquired 
in what apartment he should hang up ovr hammocks, 
In the interest of our immediate occupations we had 
not thought of this; a buzzing in the woods gave 
ominous warning of moschetoes, and we inclined to 
the highest range; but it was unsafe to carry our 
things up, or to move about the broken terraces in 
the dark. We selected, as the most easy of access, 
the rooms indicated in the engraving by the second 
doorway on the left, which, as the reader may see, 
was partly encumbered in front by the ruins of. the 
fagade on the right. We secured the doorway 
against moschetoes with the black muslin used for 
the Daguerreotype tent. The kitchen was. estab- 
lished in the corner room, and as soon as all was 
arranged we called in the servants, and associated 
them with us in an interesting and extraordinary 
sitting, as a committee of ways and means. The 
horses were well provided for in the way of green 
food, for many of the trees cut down were noble ra- 
mons, but there was neither corn nor water, and we 
were equally destitute ourselves. Except our sta- 


166 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ple stock of tea, coffee, chocolate, and a few rolls 
of Bolonchen bread (like all the bread of that coun- 
try, Sweetened, and only made to be used with cho- 
colate), we had nothing. Morning would break 
upon us without materials for a breakfast. Sum- 
mary measures were necessary, and I went out to 
consult with the major domo and the Indians. They 
had made a clearing near the horses, had their ham- 
mocks swung under the trees, and a large fire in 
the centre. All vacated their hammocks, and were 
docile as doves until I mentioned the necessity of 
sending immediately for provisions. Completely 
the creatures of habit, used to ending their labours 
with the sun, and then to gossip and repose, they 
could not bear to be disturbed. Money was no ob- 
ject to them; and but for the major domo I should 
not have been able to accomplish anything.. He 
selected two, each of whom was intrusted with part 
of the commission, as one could not remember all 
the items, and a written memorandum would, of 
course, be of no use. ‘There was one article, the 
procuring of which was doubtful, and that was an 
olla, or earthen pot, for cooking; no Indian had 
more than one in his hut, and that was always in 
use. Our messengers were instructed to buy, hire, 
or beg, or get in any other way their ingenuity 
might suggest, but not to come back without one: 
Relieved in this important matter, the encamp- 
ment under the trees, with the swarthy figures of 
the Indians lighted by the fire, presented a fine spec- 


* 


FIRST NIGHT AT THE RUINS. 167 


tacle, and, but for the apprehension of moschetoes, I 
should have been tempted to hang up my hammock 
among them. As I returned, the moon was beam- 
ing magnificently over the clearing, lighting up the 
darkness of the woods, and illuminating the great 
white building from its foundation to the summit. 

We had some apprehensions for the night. My 
hammock was swung in the front apartment. Di- 
rectly over my head, in the layer of flat stones along 
the arch, was the dim outline of a faded red painting 
like that first seen at Kewick. On the walls were 
the prints of the mysterious red hand, and around 
were the tokens of recent occupation before referred 
to, adding strength to the reflection always pressing 
upon our minds, what tales of fear and wonder these 
old walls, could they speak, might disclose. We had 
a large fire built in one corner of the apartment, but 
we heard no moschetoes, and there were no fleas. 
During the night we all woke up at the same mo- 
ment, only to congratulate each other and enjoy the 
consciousness of feeling ourselves free from these 
little nuisances. 

Our first business the next morning was to send 
our horses off to drink, and to procure water for our- 
selves, for the Indians had exhausted all that was 
found in the hollows of the rocks. At eleven o’clock 
our emissaries returned with fowls, eggs, tortillas, « 
and an olla, the last of which they had hired for a 
medio, but for that day only. 

Except a small ruined structure which we passed 
on the way to this building, as yet we had seen only 


168 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


this one with the ranges around the courtyard. It 
was clear that it did not stand alone; but we were 
so completely buried in the woods that it was utter- 
ly impossible to know which way to turn in search 
of others. In making our clearing we had stumbled 
upon two circular holes, like those found at Uxmal, 
which the Indians called chultunes, or cisterns, and 
which they said existed in all parts, and Doctor Ca- 
bot, in pursuit of a bird, had found a range of build- 
ings at but a short distance, disconnected from each 
other, and having their facades ornamented with 
stucco. 

Going out to the path from which we had turned 
off to reach this edifice, and proceeding upon it a 
short distance, we saw through the trees the corner 
of a large building, which proved to be a great par- 
allelogram, enclosing a hollow square. In the cen- 
tre of the front range a grand but ruined staircase 
ascended from the ground to the top of the building, 
and, crossing the flat roof, we found a corresponding 
staircase leading down into the courtyard. The 
richest ornaments were on the side facing the court- 
yard, being of stucco, and on each side of the stair- 
case were some of new and curious design, but, un- 
fortunately, they were all in a ruinous condition. 
The whole courtyard was overgrown, so that. the 
buildings facing it were but indistinctly visible, and 
in some places not at all. 

In the afternoon the wind increased to a regular 
Norther, and at night all the Indians were driven in 
oy the rain. 


LOVE OF THE MARVELLOUS. 169 


The next day the rain continued, and the major 
domo left us, taking with him nearly all the Indians. 
This put an end to the clearing, Mr. Catherwood 
had a recurrence of fever, and in the intervals of 
sunshine Dr. Cabot and myself worked with the Da- 
euerreotype. 

In the mean time, from the difficulty of procuring 
water and necessaries, we found our residence at - 
these ruins uncomfortable. Our Indians, whom we 
had engaged to carry our luggage, complained of the 
detention, and, to crown our troubles, the owner of 
the olla came, and insisted upon having it returned. 
Mr. Catherwood, too, was unable to work, the 
woods were wet with the rain, and we considered 
it advisable to change the scene. ‘There is no place 
which we visited that we were so reluctant to leave 
unfinished, and none that better deserved a month’s 
exploration. It remains a rich and almost unbroken 
field for the future explorer, and, that he may have 
something to excite his imagination, and, at the 
same time, to show that the love of the marvellous 
is not confined to any one country, I may add that, 
upon the strength of a letter of mine to a friend in 
the interior, giving an account of the discovery of 
this place, and mentioning the vestiges of six build- 
ings, we found, on our return to Merida, that these 
six had gone on accumulating, and had not been 
fairly brought to a stop till they had reached six 
hundred ! 


Vou. IL.—Y 15 


.70 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER X. 


Departure from Labphak.—Sugar Ranchos.—Hacienda of Jalasac. 
—Cultivation of Sugar.—Another Rancho.—lIts neat Appear- 
ance.—Seior Trego’s Establishment.—A Well.—Seybo Trees. 
—Journey resumed.—Village of Iturbide.—Its Settlement and 
rapid Growth.—An Acquaintance.—Oppressive Attentions.— 
‘Lunar Rainbow.—Appearance of the Village.—Mound of Ru- 
ins.—Visit to the Ruins of Zibilnocac.—A Well.—A long Edi- 
fice—Lazy Escort.—An anxious Host.-—Return to the Village. 
—A prosperous Emigrant.—A Dinner.—Medical Practice.—De- 
plorable Condition of the Country in regard to Medical Aid.— 
Second Visit to the Ruins.—Front of an Edifice.—Square Struct- 
ures.—Interesting Painting. An ancient Well. — Mounds.— 

- Vestiges of a great City. 


On Thursday, the twenty-fourth of February, we 
broke up and left the ruins. A narrow path brought 
us out into the camino real, along which we passed 
several small ranchos of sugar-cane. At eleven 
oclock we reached the hacienda of Jalasac, the 
appearance of which, after a few days’ burial in the 
woods, was most attractive and inviting ; and here 
we ventured to ask for water for our horses. ‘The 
master made us dismount, sent our horses to an 
aguada, and had some oranges picked from the tree, 
sliced, and sprinkled with sugar, for ourselves. He 
told us that his establishment was nothing compared 
with Senor T'rego’s, a league distant; whom, he said, 
we, of course, knew, and would doubtless stop with 


CULTIVATION OF SUGAR. 171 


a few days. Not remembering ever to have heard 
of Senor Trego before, we had not formed unalter- 
ably any such intention, but it was manifest that all 
the world, and we in particular, ought to know 
Sefior Trego; and we concluded that we would do 
him the honour of a visit as we passed through 
This gentleman had forty criados, or servants, en- 
gaged in making sugar. And, on entering the sugar 
region, I may suggest that Yucatan seems to present 
some advantages for the cultivation of this necessa- 
ry; not in the interior, on account of the expense 
of transportation, but along the coast, the whole 
line from Campeachy to Tobasco being good for 
that purpose, and within reach of a foreign market. 
The advantages are, first, that slave labour is dis- 
pensed with, and, secondly and consequently, no 
outlay of capital is necessary for the purchase of 
slaves. In Cuba or Louisiana the planter must 
reckon among his expenses the interest upon the 
capital invested in the purchase of slaves, and the 
cost of maintaining them. In Yucatan he has to 
incur no outlay of capital; Indian labour is consid- 
ered by those who have .examined into the subject 
in Cuba, as about the same with that of the negroes; 
and by furnishing them constant employment, In- 
dians can be procured in any numbers at a real per 
day, which is less than the interest upon the cost of 
a negro, and less than the expense of maintaining 
him if he cost nothing. 

Resuming our journey, at the distance of a league 


E72 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL 


we reached another rancho, which would have been 
creditable in any country for its neatness and ar- 
rangement. Our road ran through a. plaza, or 
square, with large seybo trees in the centre, and 
neat white houses on all the sides; and before the 
door of one of them we saw a horse and cart! an 
evidence of civilization which we had not seen 
till that time in the country. This could be no 
other than Seiior Trego’s. We stopped in the 
shade, Sefior Trego came out of the principal 
house, told the servants to take our horses, and said 
he had been expecting us several days. Wewerea 
little surprised, but, as we were very uncertain about 
our chances fora dinner, we said nothing. Entering 
the house, we fell into fine large hammocks; and 
Senior Trego told us that we were welcome on our 
own. account, even without the recommendation of 
the padre Rodriguez of Xul. This gave us a key to 
the mystery. The padre Rodriguez had given us a 
letter to some one on this road, which we had ac- 
cidentally left behind, and did not know the name 
of the person to whom it was addressed ; but we 
now remembered that the cura, in speaking of him, 
had said deliberately, as if feeling the full import of 
his words, that he was rich and his friend; and we re- 
membered, too, that the padre had frankly read to us 
‘the letter before giving it, in which, not to compro- 
mise himself with a rich friend, he had recommend- 
ed us as worthy of Sefior T'rego’s best offices upon 
our paying all costs and expenses; but we had rea- 


SENOR TREGO’S ESTABLISHMENT. 175 


son to believe that the honest padre had reversed 
the custom of more polished lands, and that his pri- 
vate advices had given a liberal interpretation to his 
cautious open recommendation. At all events, Se- 
fior Trego made us feel at once that there was to 
be no reserve in his hospitality; and when he or- 
dered some lemonade to be brought in immediate 
ly, we did not hesitate to suggest the addition of 
two fowls boiled, with a little rice thrown in. 

While these were in preparation, Sefior Trego 
conducted us round to look at his establishment. He 
had large sugar-works, and a distillery for the manu- 
facture of habanera; and in the yard of the latter 
was a collection of enormous black hogs, taking a si- 
esta in a great pool of mud, most of them with their 
snouts barely above water, a sublime spectacle for one 
interested in their lard and tallow, and Sefior Trego 
told us that in the evening a hundred more, quite 
equal to these, would come in to scramble for their 
share of the bed. ‘T’o us the principal objects of in- 
terest were in the square, being a well, covered over 
and dry, dug nearly to the depth of six hundred 
feet without reaching water, and the great seybo 
trees, which had been planted by Sefior Trego him- 
self; the oldest being of but twelve years’ growth, 
and more extraordinary for its rapid luxuriance than 
that before referred to as existing at Ticul. 

At four o’clock we resumed our journey, and to- 
ward dark, passing some miserable huts in the sub- 


174 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


urbs, we reached the new village of Iturbide, stand- 
ing on the outposts of civilization, the great point 
to which the tide of emigration was rolling, the Chi- 
cago of Yucatan. 

The reader may not consider the country through 
which we have been travelling as over-burdened 
with population, but in certain parts, particularly in 
the district of Nohcacab, the people did so consider 
it. Crowded and oppressed by the large landed pro- 
prietors, many of the enterprising yeomanry of this 
district determined to seek a new home in the wil- 
derness. Bidding farewell to friends and relatives, 
after a journey of two days and a half they reached 
the fertile plains of Zibilnocac, from time immemo- 
rial an Indian rancho. Here the soil belonged to 
the government ; every man could take up what land 
he pleased, full scope was offered to enterprise, and 
an opportunity for development not afforded by the 
over-peopled region of Nohcacab. Long before 
reaching it we had heard of this new pueblo and its 
rapid increase. In five years, from twenty-five in- 
habitants it had grown into a population of fifteen 
or sixteen hundred; and, familiar as we were with 
new countries and the magical springing up of cities 
in the wilderness, we looked forward to it as a new 
object of curiosity and interest. 

' The approach was by a long street, at the head 
of which, and in the entrance to the plaza, we saw 
a gathering, which in that country seemed a crowd, 


GAMBLING. bby gs) 


giving an indication of life and activity not usual in 
the older villages; but drawing nearer, we noticed 
that the crowd was stationary, and, on reaching it, 
we found that, according to an afternoon custom, 
all the principal inhabitants were gathered around a 
card-table, playing monte; rather a bad symptom, 
but these hardy pioneers exhibited one good trait of 
character in their close attention to the matter in 
hand. They gave us a passing glance and contin- 
ued the game. Hanging on the outskirts of the 
crowd, however, were some who, not having the 
wherewithal to join in the stakes, bestowed them- 
selves upon us. Among them was one who claim- 
ed us as acquaintances, and said that he had been 
anxiously looking for us. He had kept the “run” 
of us as far as Bolonchen, but had then lost us 
entirely, and was relieved when we accounted for 
ourselves by mentioning our disappearance in the 
woods of Labphak. This gentleman was about fifty, 
dressed in the light costume of the place, with straw 
hat and sandals, and it was no great recommenda- 
tion to him when he told us that he had made our 
acquaintance at Nohcacab. He was an emigrant 
from that place, and on a visit when he saw us there. 
He claimed Dr. Cabot more particularly as his friend. 
and the latter remembered receiving from him some 
really friendly offices. He apologized for not being 
able to show us many attentions at that place; it 
was his pueblo, but he had no house there; this was 
his home, and here he could make amends. He 


176 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


told us that this was a new village, and had but few 
accommodations ; the casa real had no doors, or they 
were not yet put on. He undertook to provide for 
us, however, and conducted us to a house adjoining 
that of his brother, and belonging to the latter, on 
the corner of the plaza. It hadathatched roof, and 
perhaps, by this time, the floor is cemented; but then 
it was covered with the lime and earth for making 
the cement, taking a good impression from every foot- 
step, and throwing up some dust. It was, however, 
already in use as a store-room for the shop on the 
corner, and had demijohns, water-jars, and bundles 
of tobacco stowed along the wall; the middle was 
vacant, but there was no chair, bench, or table; but 
by an energetic appeal to the lookers-on these were 
obtained. 3 

Our Nohcacab friend was most efficient in his at- 
tentions, and, in fact, constituted himself a commit- 
tee to receive us; and after repeating frequently 
that at Nohcacab, though it was his village, he had 
no house, &c., he came to the point by inviting us 
forthwith to his house to take chocolate. 

Tired of the crowd, and wanting to be alone, we 
declined, and unluckily assigned as a reason that we 
had ordered chocolate to be prepared. He went 
away with the rest, but very soon returned, and said 
that we had given him a bofetada, or rebuff, and had 
cheapened him in the estimation of his people. As 
he seemed really hurt, we directed our preparations 


AN OFFICIOUS ACQUAINTANCE. Bay 


to be discontinued, and went with him to his house, 
where we had a cup of very poor chocolate, which 
he followed up by telling us that we must eat at his 
house during the whole of our stay in the village, 
and that we must not spend a cent for la comida, or 
food. Our daily expenses at Nohcacab, he said, 
were enormous; and when we left he escorted us 
home, carrying with him a little earthen vessel con- 
taining castor oil with a wick in it, and said we must 
not spend any money for candles, and again came 
to the point by insisting upon our promising to dine 
at his house the next day. 

In the mean time Albino had inquired him out, and 
we found that we had secured a valuable acquaint- 
ance. Don Juan was one of the oldest settlers, 
and one of the most influential inhabitants. He 
was not then in public office, but he was highly con- 
nected. One of his brothers was first alcalde, and 
another keeper of the gambling-table. 

We considered his attentions for the evening at 
an end, but in a short time he entered abruptly, and 
with a crowd at his heels. This time he was really 
welcome, for he called us out to look at a lunar rain 
bow, which the people, looking at it in connexion 
with our visit and its strange objects, considered 
rather ominous, and Don Juan himself was not en- 
tirely at ease; but it did not disturb the gentlemen 
around the gambling-table, who had, in the mean 
time, to avoid the night air, moved under the shed 


Vou. I.—Z 


178 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


of the proprietor, Don Juan’s brother and our land- 
lord. 

The next morning a short time enabled us to see 
all the objects of interest in the new village of 
Iturbide. Five years before the plough had run 
over the ground now occupied by the plaza, or, 
more literally, as the plough is not known in Yuca- 
tan, the plaza is on the ground formerly occupied by 
an old milperia, or cornfield. In those ancient days 
it was probably enclosed by a bush fence; now, at 
one corner rises a thatched house, with an arbour 
before it, and a table under the arbour, at which, per- 
haps, at this moment the principal inhabitants are 
playing monte. Opposite, on the other corner, 
stood, and still stands if it has not fallen down, a 
casa de paja (thatched house) from which the 
thatching had been blown away, and in which 
were the undisposed-of remains of an ox for sale. 
Along the sides were whitewashed huts, and on one 
corner a large, neat house, belonging to our friend 
Senor Trego; then a small edifice with a cross in 
the roof, marking it as a church; and, finally, an 
open casa publica, very aptly so called, as it had no 
doors. Such are the edifices which in five years 
have sprung up in the new village of Iturbide ; and 
attached to each house was a muddy yard, where 
large black pigs were wallowing in the mire, the 
special objects of their owner's care, soon to become 
large black hogs, and to bring ten or twelve dollars 
a piece in the Campeachy market. But, interesting 


AN ANCIENT WELL. 179 


as it is to watch the march of improvement, it was 
not for these we had come to Iturbide. Within the 
plaza were memorials of older and better times, in- 
dicatidéns of a more ingenious people than the civ- 
ilized whites by whom it is now occupied. At one 
end was a mound of ruins, which had once support- 
ed an ancient building; and in the centre was an 
ancient well, unchanged from the time of its con- 
struction, and then, as for an unknown length of 
time before, supplying water to the inhabitants. 
There could be no question about the antiquity of 
this well; the people all said that it was a work of 
the antiguos, and paid respect to it and valued it 
highly on that account, for it had saved them the 
labour and expense of digging a new one for them- 
selves. 

It was about a yard and a quarter wide at the 
mouth, and seven or eight yards in depth, circular, 
and constructed of stones laid without plaster or ce- 
ment of any kind. The stones were all firmly in 
their places, and had a polish which, with creases 
made by ropes in the platform at the top, indicated 
the great length of time that water had been drawn 
from it. | 

Besides these memorials, from a street communi- 
cating with the plaza we saw a range of great 
mounds, the ruins of the ancient city of Zibilnocac, 
which had brought us to Iturbide. 

Don Juan was ready to accompany us to the 
ruins, and while he was waiting at our door, one 


180 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


person and another came along and joined him, un- 
til we had an assemblage of all the respectable cit- 
izens, apparently just risen from the gambling-table, 
of wan and miserable aspect, and, though thty had 
ponchas wrapped about them, shivering with cold. 

On the way to the ruins we passed another an- 
cient well, of the same construction with that in the 
plaza, but filled up with rubbish, and useless. ‘The 
Indians called it Stu-kum, from a subject familiar 
to them, and presenting not a bad idea of a useless 
well; the word meaning a calabash with the seeds 
dried up. A short walk brought us into an open 
country, and among the towering ruins of another 
ancient city. ‘The field was in many places clear 
of trees, and covered only with plantations of to- 
bacco, and studding it all over were lofty ranges and 
mounds, enshrouded in woods, through which white 
masses of stone were glimmering, and rising in such 
quick succession, and so many at once, that Mr. 
Catherwood, in no good condition for work, said, | 
almost despondingly, that the labours of Uxmal were 
to begin again. 

Among them was one long edifice, having at each 
end what seemed a tower; and, attended by our 
numerous escort, we approached it first. It was 
difficult to imagine what could have procured us 
the honour of their company. They evidently 
took no interest in the ruins, could give us no infor- 
mation about them, nor even knew the paths that 
led to them; and we could not flatter ourselves that 


KUINS OF ZIBILNOCAC. 181 


it was for the pleasure of our society. ‘The build- 
ing before us was more ruined than it seemed from 
a distance, but in some respects it differed from all 
the others we had seen. It required much clearing ; 
and when this was signified to our attendants, we 
found that among them all there was not a single 
machete. Generally, on these occasions, there were 
some who were ready to work, and even on the 
look-out for a job; but among these thriving people 
there was not one who cared to labour in any ca- 
pacity but that of a looker-on. A few, however, 
were picked out as by general consent the proper 
persons to work, upon whom all the rest fell and 
drove them to the village for their machetes. At 
the same time, many of those who remained took 
advantage of the opportunity to order their break 
fast sent out, and all sat down to wait. Mr. Cath- 
erwood, already unwell, worried by their chattering, 
lay down in his poncha on the ground, and finally 
became so ill that he returned to the house. In the 
mean time I went to the foot of the building, where, 
after loitering more than an hour, I heard a move- 
ment overhead, and saw a little boy of about thir- 
teen cutting among the branches of a tree. Half a 
dozen men placed themselves within his hearing, 
and gave him directions to such an extent that | 
was *bliged to tell them I was competent to direct 
one such lad myself. In a little while another 
lad of about fifteen joined him, and for some time 
these boys were the only persons at work, while 
II 16 


182 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


lazy beggars were crouching on every projecting 
stone, industriously engaged in looking at them. 
Finally, one man came along with his machete, and 
then others, until five were at work. ‘They were 
occupied the greater part of the day, but to the 
last there were some trees, obstructing the view of 
particular parts, which I could not get cut down. 
All this time the spectators remained looking on as 
if in expectation of some grand finale ; toward the 
last they began to show symptoms of anxiety, and 
during this time, through the unintentional instru- 
mentality of Don Juan, I had made a discovery. 
The fame of the Daguerreotype, or la machina, had 
reached their ears, greatly exaggerated. They, of 
course, knew but little about it, but had come out 
with the expectation of seeing its miraculous pow- 
ers exercised. If the reader be at all malicious, he 
will sympathize in my satisfaction, when all was 
cleared and ready to be drawn, in paying the men 
and walking back to the village, leaving them sitting 
on the stones. ; 

The untoward circumstances of the morning 
threw Don Juan into a somewhat anxious state; he 
had incurred the expense of preparations, and was un- 
certain whether we intended to do him the honour 
of dining with him; apprehensive of another bofe- 
tada, he was afraid to mention the subject, but on 
reaching his house he sent to give notice that din- 
ner was ready, and to inquire when he should send 
it to us. ‘T'o make amends, and again conciliate, 


A PROSPEROUS EMIGRANT. 183 


we answered that we would dine at his house, 
which he acknowledged through Albino as a much 
higher honour. 

His house was on the principal street, but a short 
distance from the plaza, and one of the first erected, 
and the best in the place. He had been induced to 
settle in Iturbide on account of the facilities and priv- 
ileges offered by the government, and the privilege 
which he seemed to value most was that of selling 
out. As he told us himself, when he came he was 
not worth a medio, and he seemed really to have 
held his own remarkably well. But appearances 
were deceitful, for he was a man of property. His 
house, including doors and a partition at one end, 
had cost him thirty dollars. The doors and parti- 
tion his neighbours regarded as a piece of preten- 
sion, and he himself supposed that these might have 
been dispensed with, but he had no children, and 
did not mind the expense. At one end of the room 
was a rude frame, supporting the image of a tu- 
telary saint. Near it was a stick thrust into the 
mud floor, with three prongs at the upper end, in 
which rested an earthen vessel containing castor 
oil, with a wick in it, to light up the mansion at 
night; a sort of bar with bottles containing agua 
ardiente flavoured with anise, for retailing to the 
Indians, which, with a small table and three ham- 
mocks, constituted the furniture of Don Juan’s house 
These last served for chairs, but as he had never an- 
ticipated the extraordinary event of dining three per- 


L84 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


sons, they could not be brought into right juxtaposi- 
tion to the table. Consequently, we sent for our two 
borrowed chairs, and, with the table in front of one 
of the hammocks, we were all seated except our host, 
who proposed to wait upon us. ‘There was one 
aristocratic arrangement in Don Juan’s household. 
His kitchen was on the other side of the street, a 
rickety old frame of poles, and Don Juan, after run- 
ning across several times, bare-headed, to watch the 
progress of the dinner, returned and threw himself 
into a hammock a little within the doorway, crying 
out across the street, “Trae la comida, muchacha.” 
« Bring the dinner, girl.” The first course included 
a bowl of soup, a plate of rice, and three spoons; 
rather an alarming intimation, but at the same time 
rather grand, and much better than the alternative 
that sometimes happened, of three plates and one 
spoon, or none at all; and all apprehension was dis- 
sipated by the reappearance of the girl with another 
bowl and plate. Don Juan himself followed with 
each hand full, and we had a bowl, plate, and spoon 
apiece. ‘The contents disposed of, another dish was 
served, which, by counting the wings and legs, we 
ascertained to be the substance of two fowls; and 
while attending to them, we were engaged in the 
friendly office, which guests but rarely do for their 
host, of calculating the expense he was incurring. 
We had too good an opinion of Don Juan’s shrewd- 
ness to believe that he was. making this lavish ex- 
penditure in mere wantonness, and wondered what 


A DELICATE CASE. 185 


he could expect to get out of usin return. We had 
hardly begun to speculate upon this when, as if 
knowing what was passing in our minds, he called 
in his wife, a respectable-looking elderly person, and 
disclosed another design upon the Daguerreotype. 
At Nohcacab he had heard of portraits being taken, 
and wanted one of his wife, and he was somewhat 
disappointed, and, perhaps, went over the calculation 
we had just made, when he learned that, as there 
were no subjects on which it could be used to ad- 
vantage, we had determined not to open the appa- 
ratus. 

~ But he did not let us off yet. His next attempt 
was upon Dr. Cabot, and this, too, was in favour ot 
his old wife. ‘Taking her by the hand, he led her 
before the doctor, and, with an earnestness that gave 
dignity to his scanty wearing apparel, and ought to 
have found its way to the depths of medical science, 
explained the nature of her maladies. It was really 
a delicate case, and made more so by the length of 
time that had elapsed since marriage. No such 
case had ever occurred in my practice, and even 
Doctor Cabot was at a loss. 

While the matter was under discussion several 
men came in. No doubt they had all received a 
hint to drop in at that hour. One had an asthma, 
another a swelling, and there were so many of Don 
Juan’s friends afflicted that we made an abrupt re- 
treat. 


Vou. IL—A a 


186 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


In the evening Don Juan’s brother, the alcalde, 
called upon Dr. Cabot for advice for a sick child, 
which the course he was pursuing would soon have 
put beyond the reach of medicine. Doctor Cabot 
made him desist, and in the morning it was so much 
better that all the people conceived a good opinion 
of his abilities, and determined to patronise him in 
earnest. 

The condition of the whole country in regard to 
medical aid is deplorable. Except at Campeachy 
and Merida there are no regular physicians, nor 
even apothecaries’ shops. In the villages where 
there are curas, the whole duty of attending the sick 
devolves upon them. ‘They have, of course, no reg- 
ular medical education, but practise upon some old 
treatise or manuscript recipes, and even in their 
small practice they are trammelled by want of med- 
icines. But in villages where there are no curas, 
there is no one to prescribe for the sick. The rich 
go to Campeachy or Merida, and put themselves un+ 
der the hands of a physician; the poor linger and 
die, the victims of ignorance and empiricism. oe 

Dr. Cabot’s fame as a ccurer of biscos had spread 
throughout the country, and whenever we reache 
a village there was a curiosity, which threw Mr. 
Catherwood and me into the shade, to see the 
medico. Frequently we overheard the people say, 
“Tan joven,” “So young:” “Es muchacho,” “ He 
is a boy;” for they associated the idea of age with 
that ofa great medico. He was often consulted upon 


MEDICAL PRACTICE. 187 


cases for which he could not prescribe with any 
satisfaction. ‘Treatment which might be proper at 
the moment might not answer a few days afterward, 
and the greatest annoyance was that, if our travel- 
ling chest could not furnish the medicine, the pre- 
scription had to wait an opportunity of being sent 
to Merida; but when the medicine arrived, the case 
might have altered so much that this medicine had . 
become altogether improper for it. It is gratifying 
to know that, in general, his practice gave satisfac- 
tion, yet, at the same time, it must be admitted that 
there were complaints. ‘The terms could not well 
have been made easier, but the ground of dissatisfac- 
tion was, that he did not always furnish medicine as 
wellas advice. Ido not mention this reproachfully, 
however; throughout the country he had a fair 
share of patronage, and the run reached its climax 
at Iturbide. Unluckily, the day on which the in- 
habitants resolved to take him up in earnest it rain- 
ed, and we were kept nearly all the time within 
doors, and there were so many applications from 
men, women, and children, many of whom came 
with Don Juan’s recommendation, that the doctor 
was seriously annoyed. Every latent disease was 
brought out, and he could even have found business 
in prescribing for cases that might possibly occur, as 
well as for those already existing. 
The next morning Mr. Catherwood made an ef- 
fort to visit the ruins. Our numerous escort of the 
former occasion were all missing, and, except an In- 


188 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


dian who had a tobacco patch in the neighbourhood, 
we were entirely alone. This Indian held an um- 
brella over Mr. Catherwood’s head to protect him 
from the sun, and, while making the drawing, sev- 
eral times he was obliged by weakness to lie down 
and rest. J was disheartened by the spectacle. Al- 
though, considering the extent of illness in our par- 
ty, we had in reality not lost much time, we had 
been so much embarrassed, and it was so disagree- 
able to be moving along with this constant liability 
to fever and ague, that here I felt very much dis- 
posed to break up the expedition and go home, but 
Mr. Catherwood persisted. 

The plate opposite represents the front of this 
building. It is one hundred and fifty-four feet in 
front and twenty feet seven inches in depth. It dif- 
fered in form from any we had seen, and had square 
structures rising in the centre and at each end, as 
seen in ruins in the engraving; these were called 
towers, and at a distance had that appearance. 
The facades of the towers were all ornamented with 
sculptured stone. Several of the apartments had 
tobacco leaves spread out in them to dry. In the 
centre, one apartment was encumbered with rubbish, 
cutting off the light from the door, but in the obscu- 
rity we saw on one of the stones, along the layer in 
the arch, the dim outline of a painting like that at 
Kewick; in the adjoining apartment were the re- 
mains of paintings, the most interesting, except those 
-near the village of Xul, that we had met with in the 























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































FIRST ACCOUNTS OF THESE RUINS. 189 


country, and, like those, in position and general 
effect reminding me of processions in Kgyptian 
tombs. The colour of the flesh was red, as was al- 
ways the case with the Egyptians in representing 
their own people. Unfortunately, they were too 
much mutilated to be drawn, and seemed surviving 
the general wreck only to show that these aboriginal 
builders had possessed more skill in the least endu- 
ring branch of the graphic art. 

The first accounts we heard of these ruins date 
back to the time of my first visit to Nohpat. Among 
the Indians there at work was one who, while we 
were lunching, sitting apart under a tree, mentioned 
these ruins in exaggerated terms, particularly a row 
’ of painted soldiers, as he called them, which, from his 
imperfect description, I supposed might bear some 
resemblance to the stuccoed figures on the fronts ot 
the buildings at Palenque; but, on pushing my in- 
quiries, he said_these figures carried muskets, and 
was so pertinacious on this point that I concluded 
he was either talking entirely at random, or of the 
remains of old Spanish structures. I noted the 
place in my memorandum-book, and having had it 
for a long time upon our minds, and received more 
different accounts of it than of any other, none 
proved more unlike what we expected to find. We 
looked for few remains, but these distinguished for 
their beauty and ornament, and high state of pres- 
ervation, instead of which we found an immense 
_ field, grand, imposing, and interesting from its vast- 


190 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ness, but all so ruined that, with the exception of 
this one building, little of the detail could be discov- 
ered. 

Back of this building, or, rather, on the other 
front, was a thriving tobacco patch, the only thri- 
ving thing we saw at Iturbide; and on the border 
another ancient well, now, as in ages past, furnish- 
ing water, and from which the Indian attending the 
tobacco patch gave us to drink. Beyond were tow- 
ering mounds and vestiges, indicating the existence 
of a greater city than any we had yet encountered. 
In wandering among them Dr. Cabot and myself 
counted thirty-three, all of which had once held 
buildings aloft. ‘The field was so open that they 
were all comparatively easy of access, but the 
mounds themselves were overgrown. I clambered 
up them till the work became tiresome and unprof- 
itable ; they were all, as the Indians said, puras 
piedras, pure stones ; no buildings were left; all had 
fallen; and though, perhaps, more than at any 
other place, happy that it was our fortune to wan- 
der among these crumbling memorials of a once 
powerful and mysterious people, we almost mourned 
that our lot had not been cast a century sooner, 
when, as we believed, all these edifices were entire. 


LAKE OF PETEN. 191 


CHAPTER XI 


End of Journey in this Direction.—Lake of Peten.—Probable Ex- 
istence of Ruins in the Wilderness.—Islands in the Lake of Pe- 
ten.—Peten Grande.—Mission of two Monks.—Great Idol of the 
Figure of a Horse.—Broken by the Monks, who in Consequence 
are obliged to leave the Island.—Second Mission of the Monks. 
—Sent away by the Indians.—Expedition of Don Martin Ursua. 
—aArrival at the Island.—Attacked by the Indians, who are de- 
feated.—Don Martin takes Possession of Itza.—Temples: and 
Idols of the Indians.—Destroyed by the Spaniards.—Flight of 
the Indians into the Wilderness.—Preparations.—Illness of Mr. 
Catherwood.—Effects of Gambling.—From the Church to the 
Gaming-table.—How People Live at .Iturbide.—Departure.— 
Rancho of Noyaxche. 


Our journey in this direction is now ended. We 
were on the frontier of the inhabited part of Yuca- 
tan, and within a few leagues of the last village. 
Beyond was a wilderness, stretching off to the Lake 
of Peten, and that region of Lacandones, or unbap- 
tized Indians, in which, according to the suggestion 
made in my previous volumes, lay that mysterious 
city never reached by a white man, but still occu- 
pied by Indians precisely in the same state as before 
the discovery of America. During my sojourn in Yu- 
catan, my account of this city was published in one 
of the Merida papers, and among intelligent persons 
there was a universal belief that beyond the Lake 
of Peten there was a region of unconverted Indians 


192 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


of whom nothing was known. We had been mo- 
ving on in the track of ruined cities. A venerable 
ecclesiastic in Merida had furnished me with an 
itinerary of the journey through the wilderness to 
the Lake of Peten, and I had some hope of being 
led on from place to place until we should reach a 
point which might unravel all mystery, and establish 
a connecting link between the past and present ; 
but this hope was accompanied by a fear, and, per- 
haps fortunately for us, we did not hear of ruins be- 
yond. If we had, we should not have attempted to 
go in search of them, and it would have been pain- 
ful to turn back. Iam far from believing, however, 
that because we did not hear of them none exist. 
On the contrary, it may well be that wrecks of 
cities lie buried but a few leagues farther on, the ex- 
istence of which is entirely unknown at the village 
of Iturbide, for at that place there was not a single 
individual who had ever heard of the ruins at Lab- 
phak, which we had visited just before, until they 
heard of them from us. 

As yet, however, our face is still set toward the 
Lake of Peten. In this lake are numerous islands, 
one of which is called Peten Grande, Peten itself 
being a Maya word, signifying an island; and be- 
fore turning back I wish to present this island for 
one moment to the reader. It now belongs to the 
government of Guatimala, and is under the ecclesias- 
tical jurisdiction of the Bishop of Yucatan. For- 
merly it was the principal place of the province of 


MISSION OF TWO MONKS. 193 


Itza, which province, for one hundred and fifty years 
after the subjugation of Yucatan, maintained its fierce 
and native independence. In the year 1608, sixty- 
six years after the conquest, two Franciscan monks, 
alone, without arms, and in the spirit of peace, set 
out to conquer this province by converting the na- 
tives to Christianity. The limits of these pages 
will not permit me to accompany them in their 
toilsome and dangerous journey, but, according to 
the account of one of them as given by Cogolludo, 
at ten o'clock at night they landed on the island, 
were provided with a house by the king, and the 
next day preached to the Indians; but the latter 
told them that the time had not yet come for them 
to become Christians, and advised the monks ta go 
away and return at some other day. Nevrerthe- 
less, they carried them round to see the towr, and 
in the middle of one of the temples they saw a great 
idol of the figure of a horse, made of lime and stone, 
seated on the ground on his haunches, with his hind 
legs bent, and raised on his fore feet, being intended 
as an image of the horse which Cortez left at that 
place on his great journey from Mexico to Honduras. 
On that occasion the Indians had seen the Spaniards 
fire their muskets from the backs of the horses, and 
supposing that the fire and noise were caused by 
the animals, they called this image Tzimin Chac, 
and adored it as the god of thunder and lightning. 
As the monks saw it, one of them, says the author 
of the account, seemed as if the Spirit of the Lord 
Vou. IL—B B a6 


194 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


had descended upon him; and, carried away by zeal- 
ous fervour, seized the foot of the horse with his 
hand, mounted upon the statue, and broke it in 
pieces. The Indians immediately cried out to kill 
them; but the king saved them, though a were 
obliged to leave the island. 

In the beginning of October, 1619, the same two 
monks, undaunted by their previous ill success, again 
appeared on the island; but the people rose up against 
them. One of the padres remonstrated ; an Indian 
seized him by the hair, twisted his neck, and hurled 
him to the ground, tearing out his hair by the roots, 
and throwing it away. He was picked up senseless, 
and, with his companion and the accompanying In- 
dians, put on board a bad canoe, without anything 
to eat, and again sent away. ‘With all their fanati- 
cism and occasional cruelty, there is something soul- 
stirring in the devotion of these early monks to the 
business of converting the souls of the Indians. 

In the year 1695, Don Martin Ursua obtained the 
government of Yucatan, and, in pursuance of a pro- 
posal previously submitted by him to the king, and 
approved by the council of the Indies, undertook 
the great work of opening a road across the whole 
continent from Campeachy to Guatimala. The 
opening of this road led to the conquest of Itza, 
and we have a full and detailed account of this con- 
quest, written by the licenciado, or lawyer, Don Juan 
Villagutierres, a native of Yucatan. It is entitled, 
“A History of the Conquest cf Itza, reduction and 


EXPEDIT1ON OF DON MARTIN DE URSUA. 195 


progress of that of Lacandon, and other barbarous 
Nations of Gentile Indians in the Mediacion of Yu- 
catan and Guatimala.” It was published at Madrid 
in the year 1701, and, what gives it great value, 
within four years after the events referred to took 
place. 

The work of opening the road was begun in 1695. 
In prosecuting it, the Spaniards encountered vestiges 
of ancient buildings raised on terraces, deserted and 
overgrown, and apparently very ancient. ‘T’hese, it 
is true, may have been abandoned long before the 
conquest; but, as the Spaniards had now been in 
the country one hundred and fifty years, it is not un- 
reasonable to suppose that the terror of their name 
may have made desolate many places which their 
arms never reached. 

On the twenty-first of January, 1697, Don Mar- 
tin de Ursua set out from Campeachy to take com- 
mand of the expedition in person, with a vicar-gen- 
eral and assistant, already nominated by the bishop, 
for the province of Itza. On the last day of Febru- 
ary he had timber cut on the borders of Peten for 
the construction of vessels which should convey 
them to the island. He sent before a proclamation, 
giving notice that the time had come when they 
should have one cup and one plate with the Span- 
jards. “If not,’ says the proclamation, “I will do 
what the king commands me, but which it is not 
necessary now to express.” The thirteenth of March 
was appointed for the day of embarcation. Some 


196 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


of the Spaniards, knowing the immense number of 
Indians on the island, and the difficulty of conquer- 
ing it, represented to the general the rashness of his 
undertaking ; but, says the historian, carried away 
by his zeal, faith, and courage, he answered that, 
having in view the service of God and the king, and 
the drawing of miserable souls from the darkness of 
heathenism, under the favour and protection of the 
Virgin Mary, whose image he carried on the royal 
standard, and engraven on his heart, he alone was 
sufficient for this conquest, even if it were much 
more difficult. 

He embatked with one hundred and eight soldiers, 
leaving one hundred and twenty, with auxiliary In- 
dians, and two pieces of artillery, as a garrison for 
the camp. The vicar blessed the vessel, and as the 
sun rose she got under way for the island, two- 
leagues distant. ‘The vicar offered up a prayer, and 
the Spaniards cried “ Viva la ley de Dios!” Half 
way across he encountered fleets of canoes filled 
with warlike Indians ; but taking no notice of them, 
and moving on toward the island, the Spaniards 
saw assembled immense numbers, prepared for war ; 
Indians crowded the tops of the small islands around; 
the canoes followed them on the lake, and enclosed 
them in a half moon between themselves and the 
shore. As soon as within reach, the Indians, by land 
and water, poured upon them a shower of arrows. 
The general, Don Martin Ursua, cried out in a loud 
voice, “ Silence! let no one begin fighting, for God 


CONQUEST OF ITZA. 197 


is on our side, and there is nothing to fear.” The 
Spaniards were enraged, but Don Martin still cried: 
out, “ Let no one fire, on pain of death!” The ar- 
rows from the shore were like thick rain. The 
Spaniards could scarcely be restrained, and one sol- 
dier, wounded in the arm, and enraged by the pain, 
fired his musket; the rest followed; the general 
could no longer control them, and, without waiting 
till they reached the shore, as soon as the oars stop- 
ped all threw themselves into the water, Don Mar- 
tin de Ursua among them. ‘The Indians were thick 
as if collected at the mouth of a cannon; but at the 
horrible noise and destruction of the fire-arms they 
broke and fled in terror. The vessel, with twenty 
soldiers, attacked the canoes, and those both in the 
canoes and on the land, from the king to the small- 
est creature, all leaped into the water, and from the 
island to the main nothing was to be seen but the 
heads of Indians, men, women, and children, swim- 
ming for life. The Spaniards entered the deserted 
town, and hoisted the royal standard on the highest 
point of Peten. With a loud voice they returned 
thanks to God for his mercies, and Don Martin Ur- 
sua took formal possession of the island and the ter- 
ritory of Itza in the name of the king. The vicar 
claimed it as belonging to the bishopric of Yucatan, 
and in stole and bonnet blessed the lake. ‘This took 
place on the thirteenth of March, 1697, one hun- 
dred and fifty-five years after the foundation of Mer- 
ida, and but one hundred and forty-five years ago. 


198 | INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


We have, then, accounts of visits by the padres 
- sixty years after the subjugation of Yucatan, and a 
detailed account of the conquest of Itza, one hun- 
dred and fifty-five years afterward; and what did 
they find on the island? ‘The monks say that, 
when taken to look over the city, they went to the 
middle and highest part of the island to see the kues 
and adoratorios of the heathen idols, and that 
“there were twelve or more of the size of the lar- 
gest churches in the villages of the Indians in the 
province of Yucatan, each one of which was capa- 
ble of containing more than one thousand persons.” 
The Spanish soldiers, too, almost before they 
had time to sheath their blood-stained swords, were 
seized with holy horror at the number of adorato- 
rlos, temples, and houses of idolatry. ‘The idols 
were so numerous, and of such various forms, that 
it was impossible to give any description of them, or 
even to count them; and in the private houses of 
these barbarous infidels, even on the benches on 
which they sat, were two or three small idols. 
According to the historical account, there were 
twenty-one adoratorios, or temples. The principal 
one was that of the great false priest Quin-canek, 
first cousin of the king Canek. It was of square 
form, with handsome breastwork, and nine steps, all 
of wrought stone, and each front was about sixty 
feet, and very high. It is again mentioned as being 
in the form of a castillo, and this name, perhaps, 
makes a stronger impression on my mind from the 


TEMPLES AND IDOLS OF THE INDIANS. 199 


fact that in the ruined cities of Chichen and Tu- 
loom, which will be presented to the reader hereaf- 
ter, there is an edifice bearing to this day the name 
of El Castillo, given to it by the Spaniards, doubt- 
less, from the same resemblance to a castle which 
induced General Ursua to apply that name to the 
adoratorio in Peten. On the last step at the en- 
trance was an idol in a squatting position, sitting 
close to the ground, in human form, but with a very 
unprepossessing countenance. 

Another great adoratorio is described, of the same 
form and similar construction, and the rest are men- 
tioned only with reference to the number and char- 
acter of the idols they contained ; but, probably, if 
there had been any material difference in form or 
construction, it would have been mentioned, and 
there is reason to believe that they were ill alike. 
These descriptions are brief and general, but, in my 
opinion, they are sufficient to identify the adorato- 
rios and temples on this island as being of the same 
general character with all the ruined buildings scat- 
tered over this country; and this presumption has 
great additional interest from another important con- 
sideration, for we have clear and authentic historical 
accounts, perhaps more reliable than any others rela- 
ting to the aborigines of this country, of the very peo- 
ple by whom and the very time within which these 
kues, adoratorios, and temples were erected. 

According to both Cogolludo and Villagutierres, 
who drew their conclusions from occurrences of 


200 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


such late date as to leave but little room for error, 
the Itzites, or people of Itza, were originally from 
the land of Maya, now Yucatan, and once formed 
part of that nation. At the time of the insurrection 
of the caciques of Maya, and the destruction of 
Mayapan, Canek, one of the rebellious caciques, got 
possession of the city of Chichen Itza. As it is 
sometimes said, on account of the foretelling of the 
arrival of the Spaniards by one of their prophets, 
but more probably on account of the insecurity of 
his possessions, he withdrew with his people from 
the province of Chichen Itza to the most hidden 
and impenetrable part of the mountains, and took 
possession of the Lake of Peten, establishing his res 
idence on the large island which now bears that 
name. ‘This emigration, according to the history, 
took place but about one hundred years before the ar- 
rival of the Spaniards. It follows, therefore, that all 
the adoratorios and:-temples which Don Martin Ur- 
sua found on the island must have been erected with- 
in that time. The conquest took place in March, 
1697, and we have the interesting fact, that but about 
one hundred and forty-five years ago, within the pe- 
riod of two lives, a city existed occupied by unbap- 
tized Indians, precisely in the same state as before 
the arrival of the Spaniards, having kues, adorato- 
rios, and temples of the same general character with 
the great structures now scattered in ruins all over 
that country. This conclusion cannot be resisted 
except by denying entirely the credit of all the his- 
torical accounts existing on the subject. 


IDOLS DESTROYED BY THE SPANIARDS. 201 


And where are these kues, adoratorios, and tem- 
ples now? In both my journeys into that country, 
it was always my intention to visit the island of Pe- 
ten, and it has been a matter of deep regret that I 
was never able to do so; but as the result of my in- 
quiries, particularly from the venerable cura who 
furnished me with the itinerary, and who lived many 
years on the island, I am induced to believe that 
there are no buildings left, but that there are feeble 
vestiges, not enough in themselves to attract the at- 
tention of mere curiosity, but which may possess 
immense antiquarian interest, as making manifest 
the hand of the builders of the American cities. 
But even if these twenty-one kues, adoratorios, or 
temples have entirely disappeared, not one stone be- 
ing left upon another, this does not impeach the 
truth of the historical account that they once exist- 
ed, for in the history of the Spaniards’ first day on 
the island we have an indication of what the same 
ruthless spirit might accomplish in one hundred and 
forty-five years. General Ursua took possession of 
the island at half past eight o’clock in the morning, 
and, immediately after returning thanks to God for 
the victory, the first order he issued was for each 
captain and officer, with a party of soldiers, to pro- 
ceed forthwith to different parts of the city to re- 
connoiter all the temples, and houses of idolaters 
and of individuals, and to hurl down and break the 
idols. ‘[‘he general himself set out, accompanied by 
the vicar and assistant, and we learn incidentally, 


Vou. IL—C ce 


202 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


and only as a means of conveying an idea of the 
multitude of idols and figures thrown down by the 
Spaniards, that the taking of the island having been 
at half past eight in the morning, they were occu- 
pied, with but little intermission, in throwing down, 
breaking, and burning idols and statues, from that 
hour until half past five in the evening, when the 
drum called them to eat, which, says the historian, 
was very necessary after so great labour; and if one 
day served for destroying the idols, one hundred and 
forty-five years, in which were erected a fort, church- 
es, and other buildings that now exist, may well have 
effected the complete destruction of all the native 
edifices for idol worship. 

I have asked where are the adoratorios and tem- 
ples of Peten, and I am here tempted to ask one 
other question. Where are the Indians whose 
heads on that day of carnage and terror covered 
the water from the island to the main? Where 
are those unhappy fugitives, and the inhabitants of. 
the other islands and of the territory of Itza? 
They fled before the terrible Spaniard, plunged 
deeper into the wilderness, and are dimly connected 
in my mind with that mysterious city before referred 
to; in fact, it is not difficult for me to believe that 
in the wild region beyond the Lake of Peten, never 
yet penetrated by a white man, Indians are now liv- 
ing as they did. before the discovery of America; 
and it is almost a part of this belief that they are 
using and occupying adoratorios and temples like 


DETENTION. 203 


those now seen in ruins in the wilderness of Yuca 
tan. 

The reader will perhaps think that I have gone 
quite far enough, and that it is time to come back. 

The next on our list were the ruins of Maco- 
ba, lying on the rancho of our friend the cura of 
Xul, and then in the actual occupation of Indians. 
We learned that the most direct road to this place 
was an Indian path, but the best way to reach it 
was to retrace our steps as far the rancho of Sefior 
Trego; at least, this was so near being the best 
that the opportunity of passing the night with him 
determined us to set out immediately by that route. 
We had our Indian carriers in attendance at the 
village; but, unluckily, while preparing to set out, 
Mr. Catherwood was taken with fever, and we were 
obliged to postpone our departure. 

We had another subject of anxiety, but more 
moderate, im the conduct of Don Juan. He had 
not been near us all day, and we could not account 
for his neglect ; but toward evening Albino learned 
that the night before he had lost sixteen dollars at 
the gaming-table, and had kept his hammock ever 
since. 

The next day it rained. On Sunday the rain 
still continued. arly in the morning the ministro 
came over from the village of Hopochen to say 
mass, and, while lounging about to note the prospect 
in regard to the weather, I stopped under the shed 
where the gaming-table remained ready for use, to 


204: INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL.. 


which, when mass was over, all the better classes 
came from the church in clean dresses, prepared for 
business. 

It was a matter of some curiosity to me to know 
how these men lived ; none of them worked. ‘Their 
only regular business seemed to be that of gambling. 
On taking a seat among them, I learned the secret 
from themselves. Each man had several outstand- 
ing loans of four or five dollars made to Indians, or 
he had sold agua ardiente or some other trifling 
commodity, which created an indebtedness. ‘This 
made the Indian a criado, or servant, and mortgaged 
his labour to the creditor or master, by the use of 
which, in milpas or tobacco plantations, the latter 
lived. By small occasional supplies of cocoa or 
spirit they keep alive the indebtedness; and as they 
keep the accounts themselves, the poor Indians, in 
their ignorance and simplicity, are ground to the 
earth to support lazy and profligate masters. 

We had not formed any very exalted opinion of 
these people, and they did not rate themselves very 
high. Don Juan had told us that the Indians were 
all drunkards, and half the white people; and the 
other half had occasionally to take to the hammock; 
he said, too, that they were all gamblers, and the al- 
calde, as he shuffled the cards, confirmed it, and ask- 
ed me to join them. He inquired if there was no 
gambling in my country, or what people did with 
their money if they did not gamble, and he allowed 
that to expend it in horses, carriages, dinners, furni- 


A VILLAGE OF GAMBLERS. 205 


ture, dress, and other particulars suggested by some 
of them, was sensible enough; for, as he said very 
truly, when they died they could not carry it away 
with them. I mentioned that in my country gam- 
bling was forbidden by law, and that for gambling 
in the street, and on a Sunday, they would all be 
taken up and punished. This touched the alcalde 
in his office, and he started up with the cards in his 
~ hand, and looking indignantly at the people under his 
charge, said that there too it was forbidden by law ; 
that any one who gambled, or who connived at it, 
or who permitted it in his house, was liable to be 
declared not a citizen; that they had laws, and very 
good ones; all knew them, but nobody minded them. 
Everybody gambled, particularly in that village; they 
had no money, but they gambled corn and tobacco 
and he pointed to a man then crossing the plaza, 
who the night before had gambled away a hog. He 
admitted that sometimes it was a good way to make 
money, but he pointed to a miserable-looking young 
man, not more than two or three-and-twenty, whose 
father, he said, had ranchos, and Indians, and houses, 
and ready money, and was close-fisted, and had left 
all to that son, who was now looking for seven and 
sixpence to make up a dollar, and the young man 
himself, with a ghastly smile, confirmed the tale. The 
alcalde then continued with a running commentary 
upon the idleness and extravagance of the people in 
the village; they were all lazy, and having illustra- 
tions at hand, he pointed to an Indian just passing 
I] 18 


206 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


with three strings of beef, which, he said, had cost 
him a medio and a half, and would be consumed at 
a meal, and that Indian, he knew, had not a medio in 
the world to pay his capitation tax. One of the 
gentlemen present then suggested that the govern- 
ment had lately passed an iniquitous law that no In- 
dian should be compelled to work unless he chose; 
if he refused, he could not be whipped or imprison- 
ed, and what could be expected in such a state of 
things? Another gentleman interposed with great 
unction, declaring that the alcalde of a neighbouring 
village did not mind the law, but went on whipping 
the same as before. All this time a dozen Indians, 
by the constitution free and independent as them- 
selves, sat on the ground without saying a word, 
merely staring from one to the other of the speakers. 

After this the conversation turned upon our own 
party, and finally settled upon Doctor Cabot. I re- 
eretted to find that, in a community which had pat- 
ronised him so extensively, there was some diversity 
of opinion as to his qualifications. ‘There was one 
dissenting voice, and the general discussion settled 
down into a warm argument between the two broth- 
ers of Don Juan, the alcalde and the keeper of the 
gambling-table, the latter of whom held up an ugly 
sandalled foot, with a great excrescence upon it, and 
said, rather depreciatingly, that the doctor did not 
cure his corns. ‘The alcalde was stanch, and thrust 
forward his cured child, but his brother shook his 
head, still holding out his foot, and I am sorry to 


DEPARTURE FROM ITURBIDE. 207 


say that, so far as I could gather the sense of the 
community, Doctor Cabot’s reputation as a medico 
received somewhat of a shock. 

In the afternoon the rain ceased, and we bade fare- 
well to the new village of Iturbide. As we passed, 
Don Juan left his place at the table to bid us good- 
by, and a little before dark we reached the rancho 

Noyaxche of Seftor Trego, where we again received 
a cordial welcome, and in his intelligent society 
found a relief from the dulness of Iturbide. 


208 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER XII. 


Journey resumed.—An Aguada.—The Aguadas artificial, and built 
by the Aboriginal Inhabitants.—Examination of one by Sejior 
Trego.—Its Construction.—Ancient Wells.— Pits.— A Sugar 
Rancho.—Rancho of ’Y-a-Walthel.—Rancho of Choop.—Arri- 
val at Macoba.—The Ruins.—Lodgings in a miserable Hut.— 
Wells.— Ruined Buildings.—Another Aguada.—Pits.—Aston- 
ishment of the Indians.—Falling in Love at first Sight.—Inter- 
esting Characters.—Departure.—Thick Undergrowth.—Rancho 
of Puut.—An Incident.—Situation of the Rancho.—Water.— 
Ruins of Mankeesh. 


Tue néxt morning after breakfast we again set 
out. Sefor Trego escorted us, and, following a 
broad wagon road made by him for the passage of 
the horse and cart, at the distance of a mile and_ 
a half we came to a large aguada, which is rep- 
resented in the plate opposite. It was apparently 
a mere pond, picturesque, and shaded by trees, and 
having the surface covered with green water plants, 
called by the Indians Xicin-chah, which, instead 
of being regarded as a blot upon the picturesque, 
were prized as tending to preserve the water from 
evaporation. “Indians were then filling their water 
jars, and this aguada was the only watering-place of 
the rancho. ‘These aguadas had become to us inte - 


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AN AGUADA. ea Dm le 


esting objects of consideration. Ever since our ar- 
rival in the country, we had been told that they 
were artificial, and, like the ruined cities we were 
visiting, the works of the ancient inhabitants. At 
first we had considered these accounts unreliable, 
and so nearly approaching the marvellous that we 
put but little faith in them; but as we advanced 
they assumed a more definite character. We were 
now in a region where the people were entirely de- 
pendant upon the aguadas ; all considered them the 
works of the antiguos; and we obtained at length 
what we had long sought for, certain, precise, and 
definite information, which would not admit of ques- 
tion or doubt. 

Failing in his attempt to procure water from the 
well, before referred to, in the plaza, in 1835 Senor 
Trego turned his attention to this aguada. He be- 
lieved that it had been used by the ancients as a 
reservoir, and took advantage of the dry season to 
make an examination, which satisfied him that his 
supposition was correct. For many years it had 
been abandoned, and it was then covered three or 
four feet deep with mud. At first he was afraid to 
undertake with much vigour the work of clearing it 
out, for the prejudices of the people were against it, 
and they feared that, by disturbing the aguada, the 
scanty supply then furnished might be cut off. In 
1836 he procured a permission from the govern- 
ment, by great exertions secured the co-operation of 
all the ranchos and haciendas for leagues around, 


212 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


and at length fairly enlisting them all in the task, 
at one time he had at work fifteen hundred Indians, 
with eighty superintendents (major domos). On 
clearing out the mud, he found an artificial bottom 
of large flat stones. These were laid upon each 


other in this form — _, and the interstices 


were filled in with clay of red and brown colour, 
of a different character from any in the neighbour- 
hood. The stones were many layers deep, and 
he did not go down to the bottom, lest by some ac- 
cident the foundation should be injured, and the fault 
be imputed to him. 

Near the centre, in places which he indicated as 
we rode along the bank, he discovered four ancient 
wells. These were five feet in diameter, faced with 
smooth stone not covered with cement, eight yards 
deep, and at the time of the discovery were also 
filled with mud. And, besides these, he found along 
the margin upward of four hundred casimbas, or pits, 
being holes into which the water filtered, and which, 
with the wells, were intended to furnish a supply 
when the aguada should be dry. 

The whole bottom of the aguada, the wells, and 
pits, were cleared out; Senor Trego portioned off 
the pits among families, to be preserved and kept in 
order by them, and the dry basin was then given up 
to the floods of the rainy season. It so happened 
that the next year was one of unusual scarcity, and 
the whole country around was perfectly destitute of 


WATER AFFORDED BY THIS AGUADA. 213 


water. ‘That year, Senor Trego said, more than 
a thousand horses and mules came to this agua- 
da, some even from the rancho of Santa Rosa, 
eighteen miles distant, with barrels on their backs, 
and carried away water. Families established 
themselves along the banks; small shops for the 
sale of necessaries were opened, and the butcher had 
his shambles with meat; the aguada supplied them 
all, and when this failed, the wells and the pits held 
out abundantly till the rainy season came on, and 
enabled them to return to their several homes. 

Throughout our journey we had suffered from 
the long continuance of the rainy season, and at this 
place we considered it one of the greatest misfor- 
tunes that attended us, that we were unable to see 
the bottom of this aguada and these ancient wells. 
Senor Trego told us that usually, at this season, the 
aguada was dry, and the people were drawing from 
the wells and pits. This year, happily for them, but 
unluckily for us, water was still abundant. Still it 
was a thing of high interest to see this ancient reser- 
voir recovered and restored to its original uses, and, 
as we rode along the bank, to have indicated to us 
the particular means and art used to render it avail- 
able. Hundreds are perhaps now buried in the 
woods, which once furnished this element of life to 
the teeming population of Yucatan. 

Leaving the aguada, our road lay over a level and 
wooded plain, then wet and muddy from the recent 
rains, and at the distance of a league we reached 


214 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


the sugar rancho of a gentleman from Oxcutzcab, 
who. had been a co-worker with Sefior Trego in 
clearing out the aguada, and confirmed all that the 
latter had told us. A league beyond we came to 
the rancho of ’Y-a-walthel, inhabited entirely by In- 
dians, and beyond our road opened upon a fine sa- 
vanna, in which were several aguadas. Beyond this 
we reached the rancho of Choop, and came into a 
good road, different from the usual milpa paths, and 
like a well-beaten camino real, made so by the con- 
stant travelling of beasts with water kegs to the 
aguadas. | 

In the afternoon we passed the campo santo of 
Macoba, and very soon, ascending a hill, we saw 
through the trees the “ old walls” of the ancient in- 
habitants. It was one of the wildest places we had 
seen; the trees were grander, and we were some- 
what excited on approaching it, for we had heard 
that the old city was repeopled, and that Indians 
were again living in the buildings. It was almost 
evening; the Indians had returned from their work ; 
smoke was issuing from the ruins, and, as seen 
through the trees, the very tops seemed alive with 
people; but as we approached we almost turned 
away with sorrow. It was like the wretched Arabs 
of the Nile swarming around the ruined temples of 
‘Thebes, a mournful contrast of present misery and 
past magnificence. ‘T’he doors were stopped with 
leaves and branches; the sculptured ornaments on 
the facades were blackened by smoke rolling from 


RUINS OF MACOBA. 215 


the doorways, and all around were the confusion and 
filthiness of Indian housekeeping. As we rode up 
the Indians stared at us in astonishment, and the 
scared women snatched up their screaming children 
and ran away. , 

Among these ruins a rancho had been erected for 
the major domo, and as everything we had hereto- 
fore seen belonging to the cura of Xul was in fine 
order, we had no fears about our accommodations ; 
but we found that nothing in this world must be ta- 
ken for granted. The rancho was thatched, and 
had a dirty earthen floor, occupied by heaps of corn, 
beans, eggs, boxes, baskets, fowls, dogs, and pigs. 
There were two small, dirty hammocks, in one of 
which was swinging an Indian lad, and from the 
other had just been taken a dead man, whose new 
grave we had seen at the campo santo. 

The major domo was a short, stupid, well-mean- 
ing old man, who apologized for the confusion on 
account of the death and burial that had just taken 
place. He was expecting. us, had his master’s or- 
ders to treat us with all due consideration, and we 
directed the rancho to be swept out. As night 
approached, we began to feel that our discomforts 
might be increased, for our carriers did not make 
their appearance. We had no apprehensions of 
robbery. Bernaldo was with them, and, knowing 
his propensities, we supposed that he had stopped 
at some rancho, where, in waiting to have some tor- 
tillas made, he had got belated, and was unable to 


216 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


find the road; but, whatever the cause, we missed 
the comforts of our travelling equipage. We were 
without candles, too, and sat in the miserable ran- 
cho in utter darkness, listening for the sound of 
the approaching carriers, until Albino procured a 
broken vessel of castor oil with a wick in it, which, 
by faintly illuminating one corner, disclosed more 
clearly the dreariness and discomfort of the scene. 

But worse than all was the prospect of sleeping 
in the flea-infested hammocks, from one of which the 
body of a dead man had just been taken. We got the 
major domo to remove them and hire others, which, 
perhaps, were in reality not much better. Albino 
and Dimas had to lie down on the earthen floor, but 
they could not remain long. Dimas mounted length- 
wise upon a log, and Albino doubled himself up in 
a baho, or bathing-tub, which kept him from the 
bare ground, but not above the jump ofa flea. For- 
tunately, we suffered excessively from cold, which 
prevented us from being thrown into a fever, but it 
was one of the worst nights we had passed in the 
country. tity 

Karly in the morning Bernaldo made his appear- 
ance, he and the carriers having had a harder time 
than ourown. ‘They had been lost, and had wan- 
dered till ten o’clock, when they came to a rancho, 
where they learned their mistake, but were too much 
tired to carry their loads any farther, and, with an 
Indian from the rancho to guide them, had set out 
two hours before daylight. 


WELLS. 217 


The rancho of Macoba had been established but 
four years. It was situated in the midst of an im- 
mense forest ; as yet.it had been used only for the 
cultivation of maize, but the cura intended the en- 
suing year to commence a plantation of sugar. . His 
inducement to establish a rancho at this place was 
the existence of the ruined buildings, which saved 
the expense of erecting huts for his criados; and he 
was influenced also by the wells and other remains 
of ancient watering-places. In the immediate vicin- 
ity of the buildings, without inquiring or seeking for 
them, we came across four wells, but all filled up with 
rubbish, and dry. Indeed, so many were known to 
exist, and the other means of supply were so abund- 
ant, that Senor Trego was about becoming a part- 
ner with the cura, under the expectation of clearing 
out and restoring these ancient reservoirs, furnishing 
an abundant supply of water, and calling around 
them a large Indian population. 

In the mean time the cura had constructed two 
large tanks, or cisterns, one of which was twenty- 
two feet in diameter, and the same in depth, and 
the other eighteen. Both these were under a large 
circular roof, or top platform, covered with cement, 
and sloping toward the centre, which received the 
great body of rain-water that fell in the rainy season, 
and transmitted it into the cisterns, and these fur- 
nished a supply during the whole of the dry season, 
as the major domo said, for fifty souls, besides fowls, 
hogs, and one horse. 


Vout. I1—E & 19 


218 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The ruins at this place were not so extensive as 
we expected to find them. ‘T'here were but cwo 
buildings, occupied by the Indians, both in the im- 
mediate neighbourhood of our hut, and much ruin- 
ed, one of which is represented in the plate oppo- 
site. A noble alamo tree was growing by its side, 
and holding it up, which, while I was in another di- 
rection, the Indians had begun to cut down, but 
which, fortunately, I returned in time to save. The 
building is about 120 feet front, and had two stories, 
with a grand staircase on the other side, now ruin- 
ed. ‘The upper story was in a ruinous condition. 
but parts of it were occupied by Indians. 

In the afternoon Doctor Cabot and myself set out 
for a ride to the aguada, induced somewhat by the 
forest character of the country, and the accounts the 
Indians gave us of rare birds, which they said were 
to be found in that direction. ‘The road lay through 
a noble piece of woods, entirely different from the 
usual scrubby growth, with thorny and impenetrable 
underbrush, being the. finest forest we had seen, 
and abounding in sapote and cedar trees. At the’ 
distance of half a league a path turned off to the 
right, overgrown, and hardly distinguishable, follow 
ing which we reached the aguada. It was a mere 
hollow basin, overgrown with high grass. We rode 
down into it, and, dismounting, my first step from the 
side of my horse carried me into a hole, being a ca- 
simba, or pit, made by the Indians for the purpose 
of receiving the filtrations of water. We discovered 


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FEARS OF THE INDIANS. 219 


others of the same kind, and to save our horses, back- 
ed them out to the edge of the aguada, and moved 
cautiously around it ourselves. ‘These pits were no 
doubt of modern date, and we could not discover 
any indications of ancient wells; nevertheless, such 
may exist, for the aguada has been disused and neg- 
lected for an unknown length of time. Soil had 
accumulated, without removing which, the charac- 
ter and construction of the bottom could not be as- 
certained. 

I returned from the aguada in time to assist Mr. 
Catherwood in taking the plan of the buildings. 
Our appearance in this wilderness had created as- 
tonishment among the Indians. All day, whenever 
we drew near to the buildings, the women and chil- 
dren ran inside, and now, when they found us en- 
tering their habitations, they all ran out of doors. 
The old major domo, unused to such a commotion 
among the women, followed us close, anxiously, but 
respectfully, and without uttering a word; and when 
we closed the book and told him we had finished. 
he raised both hands, and, with a relieved expres- 
sion, exclaimed, “ Gracios a Dios, la obra es acaba- 
da!” “Thank God, the work is done !” 

I have nothing to say concerning the history of 
these ruins. ‘They are the only memorials of a city 
which, but for them, would be utterly unknown, and 
I do not find among my notes any memoranda show- 
ing how or from whom we first received the intelli- 
gence of their existence. | 


220 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL, 


March 2. Early in the morning we were again 
preparing to move, but, when on the eve of setting 
out, we learned that Bernaldo wanted to vary the 
monotony of travelling by getting married. He had 
met at the well an Indian girl of thirteen, he him- 
self being sixteen. While assisting her to draw wa- 
ter, some tender passages had taken place between 
them, and he had disclosed to Albino his passion and 
his wishes ; but he was trammelled by that impedi- 
ment which all over the world keeps asunder those 
who are born for each other, viz., want of fortune. 
The girl made no objections on this score, nor did 
her father. On the contrary, the latter, being a pru- 
dent man, who looked to the future well-establishing 
of his daughter, considered Bernaldo, though not in 
the actual possession of fortune, a young man of 
good expectations, by reason of the wages that 
would be due to him from us; but the great dif- 
ficulty was to get ready money to pay the padre. 
Bernaldo was afraid to ask for it, and the matter 
was not communicated to us until at the moment of 
setting out. It was entirely against hacienda law to 
marry off the estate; Don Simon would not like it; 
and, in the hurry and confusion of setting out, we 
had no time to deliberate ; we therefore sent him on 
before us, and I am sorry to be obliged to say that 
this violence to his affections never made it necessa- 
ry to change the appellation which we had given 
him very early after he came into our possession, 
namely, the fat boy. 


RANCHO OF PUUT. 22) 


We found among our carriers another youthful 
example of blighted affections, but recovering. He 
was a lad of about Bernaldo’s age, to wit, sixteen, 
but had been married two years before, was a father, 
a widower, and about to be married again. The 
story was told us in his hearing, and, from his smiles 
at different parts of it, it was difficult to judge which 
he considered the most amusing; and we had still 
another interesting person, being a runaway Indian, 
who had been caught and brought back but a few 
days before, and upon whom the major domo 
charged all the others to keep a good look-out. 

Our road lay through the same great forest in 
which the ruins stood. At the distance of a league 
we descended from the high ground, and reached a 
small aguada. From this place the road for some 
distance was hilly until we came out upon a great 
savanna covered with a growth of bushes, which 
rose above our heads so thick that they met across 
the path, excluding every breath of air, without. 
shielding us from the sun, and exceedingly difficult 
and disagreeable to ride through. At one o'clock 
we reached the suburbs of the rancho of Puut. 
The settlement was a long line of straggling huts, 
which, as we rode through them under the blaze oi 
a vertical sun, seemed to have no end. Mr. Cather- 
wood stopped at one of them for a cup of water, and 
[rode on till I reached an open plain, forming a sort 
of square with thatched houses, and on one side a 
thatched church. I inquired of a woman peeping 


92) INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL 


out of a door for the casa real, and was directed to 
a ruined hut on the same side, at the door, or, rath- 
er, at the doorway of which I dismounted, but had 
hardly crossed the threshold when I saw my white 
pantaloons speckled with little jumping black in- 
sects. I made a hasty retreat, and saw a man at the 
moment moving across the plaza, who asked me to 
his house, which was clean and comfortable, and 
when Mr. Catherwood came up the women of the 
house were engaged in preparing our dinner. Mr. 
Catherwood had just experienced the same kind of 
good feeling at an Indian hut. Water, in the Maya 
language, is expressed by the word ha, but, being 
that morning rather out of practice, Mr. Catherwood 
had asked for ka, which means fire, and the woman 
brought him a lighted brand. He motioned that 
away, but still continued asking for fa, fire. ‘The 
woman went in, sat down, and made him a straw 
cigar, which she brought out to him. Sitting in the 
broiling sun, and perishing with thirst, he dropped 
his Maya, and by signs made her understand what 
he wanted, when she brought him water. 

Our host, who was a Meztizo and ex-alcalde, 
procured for us another empty hut, which, by the 
time our carriers arrived, we had swept out and 
made comfortable. 

The situation of this rancho was on a fine open 
plain; the land was good, and water abundant, 
though not very near at hand, the supply being de- 
rived from an aguada, to which we sent our horses ; 


RUINS OF MANKEESH. PA 


and they were gone so long that we determined the 
next morning, as the aguada lay but little out of our 
road, to ride by it and water them ourselves. 

From this place we intended to visit the ruins of 
Mankeesh, but we learned that it would require a 
large circuit to reach them, and, at the same time, 
we received intelligence of other ruins of which we 
had not heard before, at the rancho of Yakatzib, on 
the road we had intended taking. We determined 
for the present to continue on the route we had 
marked out, and it so happened that we did not 
reach the ruins of Mankeesh at all, which, accord- 
ing to more particular accounts received afterward, 
when it was too late to profit by them, merit the at- 
tention of the future traveller. 


v 


224 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


° 


CHAPTER XIII. 


Rancho of Jalal.—Picturesque Aguada.—Excavations made in 1t 
by the Indians. — System of Aguadas. — Journey resumed. — 
Lose the Road.—An Effort in the Maya Language.—Grove of 
Orange Trees.—Ruins of Yakatzib.—-Dilapidated Edifice.—Sto- 
ny Sierra. —Village of Becanchen.— Hospitality.—Sculptured 
Stones. — Wells. — Running Stream of Water.— Derivation of 
the Word Becanchen.—Rapid Growth of the Village.—Source 
of the Water of the Wells.—Accident to an Indian.—The Par- 
ty separate.—Aguadas.—A Trogan.—Hacienda of Zaccacal.— 
Visit to the Ruins. — Stone. Terrace. — Circular Hole. — Two 
Buildings.—Garrapatas.—Black Ants.—Return. . 


Ar seven o'clock the next morning we started, 
and at the distance of a league reached the rancho 
of Jalal, from which we turned off to the aguada: 
to water our horses. ‘The plate opposite represents 


this aguada. When we first came down upon its 


banks it presented one of the most beautifully pic- 
turesque scenes we met with in the country. It 
was completely enclosed by a forest, and had large 
trees growing around the banks and overhanging the 
water. The surface was covered with water weeds 
like a carpet of vivid green, and the aguada had a 
much higher interest than any derived from mere 
beauty. According to the accounts we had received 
at the rancho, ten years before it was dry, and the 


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SYSTEM OF AGUADAS. 227 


bottom covered with mud several feet deep. The 
Indians were in the habit of digging pits in it for 
the purpose of collecting the water which filtered 
through, and in some of these excavations they 
struck upon an ancient well, which, on clearing it 
away, was found to be of singular form and con- 
struction. It hada square platform at the top, and 
beneath was a round well, faced with smooth stones, 
from twenty to twenty-five feet deep. Below this 
was another square platform, and under the latter 
another well of less diameter, and about the same 
depth. The discovery of this well induced farther 
excavations, which, as the whole country was inter- 
ested in the matter, were prosecuted until upward of 
forty wells were discovered, differing in their char- 
acter and construction, and some idea of which may 
be formed from the engraving that follows. These 



































were all cleared out, and the whole aguada repaired, 
since which it furnishes a supply during the greater 


228 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


part of the dry season, and when this fails the wells 
appear, and continue the supply until the rains come 
on again. 

Leaving this, we continued again upon a plain, 
Albino had not come up with us, and passing through 
one Indian rancho, we came to another, in which 
were many paths, and we were at a loss which to 
take. ‘The men were all away, and we were obli- 
ged to chase the women into their very huts to 
ask directions. At the last hut we cornered two, 
who were weaving cotton, and came upon them with 
our great effort in the Maya language, “ ‘Tush y am 
be—” “Is this the way to—” adding Yakatzib, the 
name of the rancho at which we were told there 
were ruins. We had acquired great facility in asking 
this question, but if the answer went beyond “yes” 
or “no,” or an indication with the hand, as was the 
case on this occasion, it was entirely beyond our at- 
tainments. ‘The women gave us a very long, and 
probably a very civil answer, but we could not un 
derstand a word of it; and finding it impossible to 
bring them to monosyllables, we asked for a draught 
of water and rode on. | 

When we had gone some distance beyond the 
rancho, it occurred to us that this might be Yakat- 
zib itself, and we turned back. Before reaching 
it, however, we turned off into a grove of large or- 
ange trees at one side of the road, dismounted, and 
tied our horses under the shade to wait for Albino. 
The trees were loaded and the ground covered with 


RUINS OF YAKATZIB. 229 


fruit, but the oranges were all of the sour kind. 
We could not sit down under the trees, for the 
ground was teeming with garrapatas, ants, and other 
insects, and while standing we were obliged to switch 
them off with our riding whips. Soon Albino came 
thundering along on the trotter, and we learned that 
we had really passed Yakatzib, as the women had 
no doubt told us. While we were mounting to go 
back, a boy passed on a miserable old horse, his bare 
body perched between two water-kegs, with which 
he was going to the aguada. [or a medio he slip- 
ped off, tied his horse to a bush, and ran before us as 
our guide through the rancho, beyond which, turning 
off to the right, we soon reached a ruined edifice. 

It was small, and the whole front was gone; the 
door had been ornamented with pillars, which had 
fallen, and lay on the ground. The boy told us that 
there were ruined mounds, but no other remains of 
buildings. We turned back without dismounting, 
and continued our journey. 

At two o'clock we reached the foot of a stony 
sierra, or mountain range, toilsome and laborious for 
the horses, but Mr. Catherwood remarked that his 
pricked up his ears and trod lightly, as if just begin- 
ning a journey. From the top of the same sierra we 
saw at its foot, on the other side, the village of Be- 
canchen, where, on arriving, we rode through the 
plaza, and up to a large house, the front of which 
was adorned with a large red painting of a major 


domo on horseback, leading a bull into the ring. 
II 20° 


230 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL, 


We inquired for the casa real, and were directed to 
a miserable thatched house, where a gentleman step- 
ped out and recognised Mr. Catherwood’s horse, 
which had belonged to Don Simon Peon, and 
through the horse he recognised me, having seen 
me with Don Simon at the fair at Jalacho, on the 
strength of which he immediately offered his house 
for a posada, or inn, which offer, on looking at the 
casa real, we did not hesitate to accept. 

We were still on the great burial-ground of ruined 
cities. In the corridor of the house were sculptured 
stones, which our host told us were taken from the 
ancient buildings in the neighbourhood; they had 
also furnished materials for the foundation of every 
house on the plaza; and besides these there were 
other memorials. In the plaza were eight wells, 
then furnishing an abundant supply of water, and 
bearing that stamp which could not be mistaken, of 
the hand of the ancient builders. Below the plaza, 
on the declivity of the hill, was water gushing from 
the rocks, filling a clear basin beneath, and running 
off till it was lost in the woods. It was the first 
time in our whole journey that we had seen anything 
like a running stream, and after the parched regions 
through which we had passed, of almost inaccessi- 
ble caves, muddy aguadas, and little pools in the 
hollows of rocks, it was a refreshing and delightful 
spectacle. Our Indian carriers had taken up their 
quarters under a brush fence, in sight and within 
reach of the stream, and to them and the muleteers 


VILLAGE OF BECANCHEN. 231 


jt was like the fountain to the Arab in the desert, or 
the rivers of sweet water promised to the faithful in 
the paradise of Mohammed. 

The history of this village has all the wildness of 
romance, and, indeed, throughout this land of se- 
pulchred cities the genius of romance sits enthron- 
ed. Its name is derived from this stream of water, 
being compounded of the Maya words Becan, run- 
ning, and chen,awell. ‘l'wenty years ago the coun- 
try round about was a wilderness of forest. A sol- 
itary Indian came into it, and made a clearing for 
his milpa. In doing so he struck upon the running 
stream, followed it until he found the water gushing 
from the rock, and the whole surface now occupied 
by the plaza pierced with ancient wells. ‘The In- 
dians gathered round the wells, and a village grew 
up, which now contains six thousand inhabitants; a 
srowth, having regard to the difference in the re- 
sources of the country and the character of the peo- 
ple, equal in rapidity to that of the most prosperous 
towns 1n.ours. 

These wells are all mere excavations through a 
stratum of limestone rock, varying in depth accord- 
ing to the irregularity of the bed, and in general not 
exceeding four or five feet. The source of the wa- 
ter is considered a mystery by the inhabitants, but it 
seems manifest that it is derived from the floods of 
the rainy season. ‘The village is encompassed on 
three sides by hills. On the upper side of the pla- 
za, near the corner of a street running back to the 


232 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


elevated range, is a large hole or natural opening in 
the rock, and during the whole of the rainy season — 
a torrent of water collects into a channel, pours 
down this street, and empties into this hole. As 
we were told, the body of water is so great that for 
a week or ten days after the last rains the stream 
continues to run; and at the time of our visit it was 
eighteen inches in diameter. ‘Theewater in the 
wells is always at the same level with that in the 
hole. They rise and fall together ; and there is an- 
other conclusive proof of direct connexion, for, as 
we were told, a small dog that had been swept into 
the hole appeared some days afterward dead in one 
of the most distant wells. 

Doctor Cabot and I descended into one of the 
wells, and found it a rude, irregular cavern, about 
twenty-five feet in diameter; the roof had some de- 
eree of regularity, and perhaps, to a certain extent, 
was artificial. Directly under the mouth the water 
was not more than eighteen inches deep, but the bot- 
tom was uneven, and a step or two beyond the wa- 
ter was so deep that we could not examine it thor- 
oughly. By the light of a candle we could see no 
channel of communication with the other wells, but 
on one side the water ran deep under a shelving of 
the rock, and here there were probably some crevices 
through which it passed; indeed, this must have 
been the case, for this was the well in which the 
dog had come to light. 

When we emerged from this well other business 


ACCIDENT TO AN INDIAN. 233 


offered. Having little or no intercourse with the 
capital, this village was the first which Doctor Ca- 
bot’s fame had not reached, and our host took me 
aside to ask me in confidence whether Doctor Ca- 
bot was a real medico ; which fact being easily es- 
tablished by my evidence, he wanted the medico 
to visit a young Indian whose hand had been man- 
gled by a sugar-mill. Doctor Cabot made some in- 
quiries, the answers to which led to the conclusion 
that it would be necessary to cut off the hand; but, 
unluckily, at the last reduction of our luggage he 
had left his amputating instruments behind. He 
had a hand-saw for miscellaneous uses, which would 
serve in part, and Mr. Catherwood had a large 
spring-knife of admirable temper, which Doctor Ca- 
bot said would do, but the former flatly objected to 
its conversion into a surgical instrument. It had 
been purchased at Rome twenty years before, and 
in all his journeyings had been his travelling com- 
panion ; but after such an operation he would nev- 
er be able to use it again. © Strong arguments were 
urged on both sides, and it became tolerably manifest 
that, unless amputation was necessary to save the 
boy from dying, the doctor would not get the knife. 

Reaching the house, we saw the Indian sitting in 
the sala, the hand torn off to within about an inch of 
the wrist, and the stump swollen into a great ball six 
inches‘in diameter, perfectly black, and literally alive 
with vermin. At the first glance I retreated into 


Vou. Il.—G « 


234 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


the yard, and thence into the kitchen, when a wom- 
an engaged in cooking ran out, leaving her vessels 
boiling over the fire. 1 superintended her cooking, 
and dried my damp clothes, determined to avoid 
having anything to do with the operation ; but, for- 
tunately for me and Mr. Catherwood’s knife, Doctor 
Cabot considered that it was not advisable to am 
putate. It was ten days since the accident hap- 
pened, and the wound seemed to be healing. Doc- 
tor Cabot ascribed the lad’s preservation to the sound 
and healthy state of the blood, ah from the sim- 
ple diet of the Indian. 

At this place we determined to separate ; Mr. 
Catherwood to go on direct to Peto, a day anda 
half’s journey distant, and lie by a few days to re- 
cruit, while Doctor Cabot and I made a retrograde 
and circuitous movement to the village of Mani. 
While speaking of our intention, a by-stander, Don 
Joaquin Sais, a gentleman of the village, told us 
of ruins on his hacienda of Saccacal, eight leagues 
distant by a milpa road, and said that if we would 
wait a day, he would accompany us to visit them ; 
but as we could not, he gave us a letter to the ma 
jor domo. 

Early the next morning Doctor Cabot and I set 
out with Albino and a single Indian, the latter car- 
rying a petaquilla and hammocks. We left the vil- 
lage by the running stream, and rode for some time 
along a deep gully made by the great body of water 
which rushes through it in the rainy season. At 


HACIENDA OF SACCACAL. 235 


half past nine we reached a large aguada, the banks 
of which were so muddy that it was impossible to 
get down to it to drink. A league beyond we 
reached another, surrounded by fine shade trees, 
with a few ducks floating quietly upon its surface. 
As we rode up Dr. Cabot shot a trogan, one of the 
rare birds of that country, adorning by its brilliant 
plumage the branches of an overhanging tree. We 
lost an hour of hard riding by mistaking our road 
among the several diverging tracks that led from the 
aguada. It was very hot; the country was deso- 
late, and, suffering from thirst, we passed some In- 
dians under the shade of a large seybo tree eating 
tortillas and chili; to whom we rode up, confident 
of procuring water; but they either had none, or, 
as Albino supposed, hid it away as we approached. 
At one o’clock we came to another aguada, but the 
bank was so muddy that it was impossible to get to 
the water without miring our horses or ourselves, 
and we were obliged to turn away without relief 
from our distressing thirst. Beyond this we turned 
off to the left, and, unusually fatigued with the heat 
and hard riding, although we had come but eight 
leagues, to our great satisfaction we reached the ha- 
cienda of Zaccacal. 

Toward evening, escorted by the major domo and 
a vaquero to show the way, I set out for the ruins. 
At the distance of half a mile on the road to T'e- 
kax, we turned off into the woods to the left, and 
very soon reached the foot of a stone terrace. ‘The 


236 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


vaquero led the way up it on horseback, and we fol- 
lowed, dismounting at the top. On this terrace was 
a circular hole like those before referred to at Ux- 
mal and other places, but much larger; and, looking 
down into it till my eyes became accustomed to the 
darkness, I saw a large chamber with three recesses 
in different parts of the wall, which the major domo 
said were doors opening to passages that went un- 
der ground to an extent entirely unknown. By 
means of a pole with a crotch I descended, and 
found the chamber of an oblong form. The doors, 
as the major domo called them, were merely recesses 
about two feet deep. ‘Touching one of them with 
my feet, I told him that the end of his passage was 
there, but he said it was tapado, or closed up, and 
persisted in asserting that it led to an indefinite ex- 
tent. It was difficult to say what these recesses 
were intended for. ‘They threw a mystery around 
the character of these subterranean chambers, and 
unsettled the idea of their being all intended for 
wells. 

Beyond this, on a higher terrace, among many re- 
mains, were two buildings, one of which was in a 
good state of preservation, and the exterior was orna- 
mented all around with pillars set in the wall, some- 
what different from those in the facades of other build- 
ings, and more fanciful. ‘The interior consisted of but 
a single apartment, fifteen feet long and nine feet wide. 
The ceiling was high, and in the layer of flat stones 
along the centre of the arch was a single stone, like 


4 


THE RUINS.—-GARRAPATAS.—BLACK ANTS. 237 


that seen for the first time at Kewick, ornamented 
with painting. 

This building stood in front of another more over 
yrown and ruined, which had been an imposing and 
important edifice. ‘The plan was complicated, and 
the exterior of one part was rounded, but the round- 
ed part was a solid mass, and within the wall was 
straight. In the back wall was a recess, once oc- 
cupied, perhaps, by a statue. Altogether, there was 
much about this edifice that was new and curious; 
and there were other cerros, or mounds, of undistin- 
guishable ruins. 

Short as my visit was, there were few considera- 
tions that could have tempted me to remain longer. 
The garrapatas would soon be over, but they contin- 
ued with the rainy season, and, in fact, increased 
and multiplied. I discovered them the moment I 
dismounted, and at first attempted to whip them off, 
but wishing to get through before night, I hurried 
round this building, creeping under branches and 
tearing aside bushes, and, actually covered with the 
abominable insects, started for the road. 

In hurrying forward I unwittingly crossed the track 
of a procession of large black ants. ‘These proces- 
sions are among the extraordinary spectacles of that 
country, darkening the ground for an hour at a time ; 
and the insect has a sting equal to that of hornets, 
as I quickly learnéd on this occasion. When [ 
reached the road I was almost numbed with pain, 
and when I mounted [ felt that nothing could tempt 


238 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


me to live in such a country. The hacienda was 
in an unusually pretty situation. Opposite was a 
long line of hills; the sun was setting, and it was 
precisely the hour and the scene for a country ram- 
ble; but the owner of thousands of acres could nev- 
er diverge from the beaten path without — 
these pests upon him. 

I returned to the house, where the major domo 
kindly provided me with warm water for a bath, 
which cooled the fever of my blood. At night, for 
the first time in the country, we had at one end of 
the room the hammocks of the women, but this was 
not so bad as ants or garrapatas. 


SAN JOSE. 239 


CHAPTER XIV. 


Village of San José.—Thatched Church.—The Cura.—A refrac- 
tory Indian.—Attachment of the Indians.—Journey to Mani.— _ 
The Sierra.—Hacienda of Santa Maria.—A ruined Mound.— 
Good Road.—Arrival at the City of Tekax.—A bloodless Rev- 
olution.—Situation and Appearance of the City.—An interest- 
ing Meeting.—Curiosity of the People.—Akil.—The Site of a 
ruined City.—Sculptured Stones.—Journey resumed.—Arrival 
at Mani.—Historical Notice.—Tutul Xiu.—Embassy to the 
Lords of Zotuta.—Ambassadors murdered.—Mani the first inte- 
rior Town that submitted to the Spaniards.—Scanty Supply of 
Water throughout the Country.—Important Consideration.—A 
touching Discovery. 


Marcu 5. Early the next morning we set out 
for the ruins of San José. At seven o'clock we 
reached the pueblocito, or little village, of that name, 
pleasantly situated between a range of hills and a 
sierra, containing about two hundred inhabitants, 
among whom, as we rode into the plaza, we saw 
several white men. At the casa real we found a 
cacique of respectable appearance, who told us that 
there were no “ old walls” in that village, which re- 
port of his, other Indians standing round confirmed. 
We were not much disappointed, nor at all anxious 
to find anything that would make it necessary to 
change our plans; to lose no time, we determined 
to push on to Mani, eight leagues distant, and ap- 


240 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


plied for an Indian to carry our hammocks, which 
the cacique undertook to provide. 

On the opposite side of the square was a thatch- 
ed church, the bell of which was tolling for morning 
mass, and before the door was a group of men, sur- 
rounding a portly old gentleman in a round jacket, 
who I knew must be the padre. They all confirm- 
ed the accounts we had received at the casa real, 
that there were no ruins; but the cura, enforcing 
his words with an Ave Maria, said that at Ticum, 
the head of his curacy, there were bastante, or 
enough of them. He intended to return immedi- 
ately after mass, and wanted us to go with him to 
see them, and write a description of them. I felt a 
strong disposition to do so, if it was only to pass a 
day with him at the convent; but, on inquiring, I 
learned that the “ old walls” were entirely in ruins; 
they had furnished materials for that church and 
convent, and all the stone houses of the village. 

While this was going on at the door of the 
church, an Indian sexton was pulling lustily at the 
bell-rope, ringing for mass, and, as if indignant that 
his warning was not attended to, he made it so 
deafening that it was really a labour for us to hear 
each other. The cura seemed in no hurry, but I 
had some scruples about keeping the congregation 
waiting, and returned to the casa real. 

Here a scene had just taken place, of which no- 
thing but the noise of the bell prevented my having 
some previous knowledge. ‘The cacique had sent 


A REFRACTORY INDIAN. 241 


for an Indian to carry our load, but the latter re- 
fused to obey, and was insolent to the cacique, who, 
in a rage, ordered him to be put into the stocks. 
When I entered, the recusant, sullen and silent, 
was Waiting the execution of his sentence, and in a 
few minutes he was lying on his back on the 
ground, with both legs secured in the stocks above 
his knees. ‘The cacique sent for another, and in 
the mean time an old woman came in with a roll of 
tortillas, and a piteous expression of face. She was 
the mother of the prisoner, and took her seat on the 
stocks to remain with him and comfort him; and, 
as the man rolled his head on the ground, and the 
woman looked wonderingly at us, we reproached 
ourselves as the cause of his disaster, and endeav- 
oured to procure his release, but the cacique would 
not listen to us. He said that the man was pun- 
ished, not for refusing to go with us, although bound 
to do so on account of indebtedness to the village, 
but for insolence to himself. He was evidently one 
who would not allow his authority to be trifled 
with; and seeing that, without helping the Indian, 
we might lose the benefit of the cacique’s good dis- 
positions in our favour, we were fain to desist. At 
length, though evidently with some difficulty, he 
procured another Indian. As we mounted, we 
made a final effort in bebalf of the poor fellow in the 
stocks; and, though apparently unable to compre- 
hend why we should take any interest in the mat- 
ter, the cacique promised to release him. 


Vo.t. IL—H 4 oak 


242 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


This over, we found that we had thrown another 
family into confusion. ‘The wife and a little daugh 
ter of our carrier accompanied him to the top of a 
hill beyond the village, where they bade him fare- 
well as if he was setting out on a long and danger- 
ous journey. The attachment of the Indian to his 
home ‘is a striking feature of his character. The 
affection which grows up between the sexes was 
supposed by the early writers upon the character of 
the Indians not to exist among them, and probably 
the sentiment and refinement of it do not; but cir- 
cumstances and habit bind together the Indian 
man and woman as strongly as any known ties. 
When the Indian grows up to manhood he requires 
a woman to make him tortillas, and to provide him 
warm water for his bath at night. He procures 
one, sometimes by the providence of the master, 
without much regard to similarity of tastes or parity 
of age; and though a young man is mated to an old 
woman, they live comfortably together. If he finds 
her guilty of any great offence, he brings her up be- 
fore the master or the alcalde, gets her a whipping, 
and then takes her under his arm and goes quietly 
home with her. The Indian husband is rarely 
harsh to his wife, and the devotion of the wife to 
her husband is always a subject of remark. ‘They 
share their pleasures as well as their labours; go up 
together with all their children to some village fies- 
ta, and one of the most afflicting incidents in their 


HACIENDA OF SANTA MARIA. 243 


lot is a necessity that takes the husband from his 
home. | 

In the suburbs of the village we commenced as- 
cending the sierra, from the top of which we saw 
at the foot the hacienda of Santa Maria. Behind 
it rose a high mound, surrounded by trees, indicating 
that here too were the ruins of an ancient city. 

Descending the sierra, we rode up to the hacien- 
da, and saw three gentlemen sitting under a shed 
breakfasting. One of them had on a fur hat, a mark 
of civilization which we had not seen for a long 
time; an indication that he was from the city of 
Tekax, and had merely come out for a morning 
ride. 

The proprietor came out to receive us, and, 
pointing to the mound, we made some inquiry about 
the building, but he did not comprehend us, and, 
supposing that we meant some old ranchos in that 
direction, said that they were for the servants. Al- 
bino explained that we were travelling over the 
country in search of.ruins, and the gentleman look- 
ed at him perhaps somewhat as the inn-keeper 
looked at Sancho Panza when he explained that 
his master was a knight-errant travelling to redress © 
grievances. We succeeded, however, in coming to 
an understanding about the mound, and the master 
told us that he had never been to it; that there was 
no path; that if we attempted to go to it we should 
be eaten up by garrapatas, and he called some In- 
dians, who said that it was entirely in ruins. This 


244 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


was satisfactory, for the idea of being loaded with 
garrapatas to carry about till night had almost made 
me recoil. At the same time, the other gentle- 
men told us of other ruins at a league’s distance 
from Tekax, on the hacienda of Sefor Calera. I 
felt strongly disposed to turn off and visit the latter, 
but our carrier had gone on, and the little difficul- 
ties of overtaking him, procuring another for a 
change of route, and perhaps losing a day, were 
now serious objections ; besides, there was no end 
to the ruins. | 
Leaving the hacienda, we entered, with a satis- 
faction that can hardly be described, upon a broad 
road for carretas and calesas. We had emerged 
from the narrow and tangled path of milpas and 
ranchos, and were once more on a camino real. 
We had accomplished a journey which we were 
assured, on setting out, was impracticable ; and now 
we were coming upon the finest portion of the 
state, famed for its rich sugar plantations. We met 
heavy, lumbering vehicles drawn by oxen and hor- 
ses, carrying sugar from the haciendas. Very soon 
we reached ‘Tekax, one of the four places in Yu- 
catan bearing the name of a city, and I must con- 
fess that I felt some degree of excitement. ‘T‘hrough- 
out Yucatan our journey had been so quiet, so free 
from danger or interruption of any kind, that, after 
my Central American experience, it seemed unnat- 
ural. Yucatan was in a state of open rebellion 
against Mexico; we had heard of negotiations, but 


A BLOODLESS REVOLUTION. 245 


there had been no tumult, confusion, or bloodshed. 
Tekax alone had broken the general stillness, and 
while the rest of the country was perfectly quiet, 
this interior city had got up a small revolution on 
its own account, and for the benefit of whom it 
might concern. 

Acéording to the current reports, this revolution 
was got up by three patriotic individuals, whose 
names, unfortunately, I have lost. They belonged 
to the party called Los Independientes, in favour of 
declaring independence of Mexico. The elections 
had gone against their party, and alcaldes in favour 
of a reannexation to Mexico were installed in of- 
fice. In the mean time commissioners arrived from 
Santa Ana to negotiate with the government of Yu- 
catan, urging it not to make any open declaration, 
but to continue quietly in its state of independence 
de facto until the internal difficulties of Mexico 
were settled, when its complaints would be attended 
to and its grievances redressed. Afraid of the in- 
fluence which these commissioners might exercise, 
the three patriots of Tekax resolved to strike for 
liberty, went round among the ranchos of the sier- 
ra, and collected a band of more than half-naked 
Indians, who, armed with machetes, a few old mus- 
kets, and those primitive weapons with which David 
slew Goliath, descended upon ‘Tekax, and, to the 
ereat alarm of;the-women and children, took pos- 
session of the plaza, set up the figure of Santa Ana, 
pelted him with stones, put some bullets into hin, 


246 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


burned him to ashes, and shouted “ Viva la inde- 
pendencia.” But few of them had ever heard of 
Santa Ana, but this was no reason why they should 
not pelt him with stones and burn him in effigy. 
They knew nothing of the relations between Yu- 
catan and Mexico, and by the cry of independencia 
they meant a release from tribute to the government 
and debts to masters. With but little practice in 
revolutions, they made a fair start by turning out the 
alcaldes and levying contributions upon political op- 
ponents, and threw out the formidable threat that 
they would march three hundred men against the 
capital, and compel a declaration of independence. 
Intelligence of these movements soon reached Mer- 
ida, and fearful menaces of war were bandied from 
one city to the other. Hach waited for the other 
‘to make the first demonstration, but at length the 
capital sent forth its army, which reached Ticul the 
day after I left at the conclusion of my first visit, 
and while Doctor Cabot was still there. It was 
then within one day’s march of the seat of rebel- 
lion, but halted to rest, and to let the moral effect of 
its approach go on before. ‘The reader has per- 
haps never before heard of ‘T’ekax; nevertheless, a 
year has not elapsed since the patriotic, half-naked 
band in arms for independence thought that the eyes 
of the whole world were upon them. In three days 
the regular army resumed its march, with cannon in 
front, colours flying, drums beating, and the women 
of Ticul laughing, sure that there would be no 


CITY OF TEKAX. 247 


bloodshed. The same day it reached Tekax, and 
the next morning, instead of falling upon each oth- 
er like so many wild beasts, the officers and the 
three patriot leaders were seen walking arm in arm 
together in the plaza. The former promised good 
offices to. their new friends, two reales apiece to the 
Indians, and the revolution was crushed. All dis- 
persed, ready to take up arms again upon the same 
terms whenever their country’s good should so re- 
quire. 

Such were the accounts we had received, always 
coupled with sweeping denunciations of the popu- 
lation of ‘[ekax as revolutionary and radical, and 
the rabble of Yucatan. Having somewhat of a 
leaning to revolutions in the abstract, 1 was happy 
to find that, with such a bad reputation, its appear- 
ance was finer, and more promising than that of any 
town I had seen, and I could not but think it would 
be well for Yucatan if many of her dead-and-alive 
villages had more such rabble. 

The city stands at the foot of the sierra. Riding 
up the street, we had in full view the church of La 
Hermita, with a broad flight of stone steps scaling 
the side of the mountain. ‘The streets were wide, 
the houses large and in fine order, and one had 
three stories, with balconies overhanging the street; 
and there was an appearance of life and business, 
which, coming as we did from Indian ranchos, and 
so long away from anything that looked like a city. 


248 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


and the comforts and elegances of living, was really 
exciting. | 

As we rode along a gay calesa approached us, 
occupied by a gentleman and lady, well dressed and 
handsome, and, to our surprise, in the lady we rec- 
ognised the fair subject upon whom we had begun 
business as Daguerreotype portrait takers, and 
whose gift of a cake had penetrated the very leath- 
er of my saddle-bags. A few short weeks had made 
a great change in her condition; she was now 
riding by the side of her lawful proprietor. We at- 
tempted, by the courtesy of our salute, to withdraw 
attention from our wearing apparel. Unluckily, 
Doctor Cabot’s sombrero was tied under his chin, 
so that he could not get it off. Mine, with one of 
the strings carried away, described a circle in the 
air, and, as the doctor maliciously said, disappeared 
under my horse. ‘The gentleman nodded conde- 
scendingly, but it was flattering ourselves to believe 
that the lady took any notice of us whatever. 

But though old friends forgot us, we were not 
unnoticed by the citizens of 'Tekax. As we rode 
along all eyes were turned upon us. We stopped 
in the plaza, which, with its great church and the 
buildings around it, was the finest we had seen in 
he country, and all the people ran out to the cor- 
ridors to gaze atus. It was an unprecedented thing 
for strangers to pass through this place. European 
saddles, holsters, and arms were strange, and, in- 
cluding Albino, we made the cabalistic number of 


AK DL: 249 


three which got up the late revolution. Knowing 
the curiosity we excited, and that all were anxious 
to speak to us, without dismounting or exchanging 
a word with an inhabitant, we passed through the 
plaza and continued our journey. The people 
were bewildered, as if the ragged tail of a comet 
had passed over their heads; and afterward, at a 
distant village, we heard the report that we had 
passed through Tekax vestidos como Moros, or 
dressed like Moors. The good people, having nev- 
er seen a Moor, and not being very familiar with 
Moorish costume, had taken our blouzes for such. 
The strange guise in which we appeared to them 
alleviated somewhat the mortification of not being 
recognised by the fair lady of Merida. 

Our road lay for some distance along the sierra. 
It was broad, open, and the sun beat fiercely upon 
us. At half past ten we reached Akil, and rode up 
to the casa real. At the door wasa stone hollowed 
out like those often before referred to, called pilas. 
In the steps and foundation were sculptured stones 
from ruined mounds in the immediate neighbour- 
hood, and the road along the yard of the church ran 
through a mound, leaving part on each side, and 
the excavated mass forming on one side the wall of 
the convent yard. The rest of the wall, the church, 
and the convent were built with stones from the 
ancient buildings. We were on the site of another 
ruined city, of which we had never heard, and 


Vou. W—I1 


250 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


might never have known, but for the telltale memo- 
rials at the door of the casa real. 

At a quarter before three we resumed our jour- 
ney. The sun was still very hot; the road was 
straight, stony, and uninteresting, a great part of 
the way through overgrown milpas. At half past 
five we reached Mani, again finding over the door 
and along the sides of the casa real sculptured 
stones, some of them of new and curious designs ; 
in one compartment was a seated figure, with what 
might seem a crown and sceptre, and the figures 
of the sun and moon on either side of his head, 
curious and interesting in themselves, independent 
of the admonition that we were again on the site 
of an aboriginal city. 

In all our journey through this country there 
were no associations. Day after day we rode into 
places unknown beyond the boundaries of Yucatan, 
with no history attached to them, and touching no 
chord of feeling. Mani, however, rises above the 
rest, and, compared with the profound obscurity or 
the dim twilight in which other places are envel- 
oped, its history is plainly written. 

When the haughty caciques of Maya rebelled 
against the supreme lord, and destroyed the city of 
Mayapan, the reigning monarch was left with only 
the territory of Mani, the people of which had not 
joined in the rebellion. Here, reduced in power 
to the level of the other caciques, the race of the 


MANI. 25% 


ancient lords of Maya ruled undisturbed until the 
time of the Spanish invasion; but the shadow of 
the throne rested over it; it was consecrated in the 
affections of the Indians, and long after the conquest 
it bore the proud name of la Corona real de Mani. 

It has been mentioned that on their arrival at 
Tihoo the Spaniards encamped on a cerro, 01 
mound, which stood on the site now occupied by 
the plaza of Merida. While in this position, sur- 
rounded by hostile Indians, their supplies cut off 
and straitened for provisions, one day the scouts 
brought intelligence to Don Francisco Montejo of 
a great body of Indians, apparently warlike, advan- 
cing toward them. From the top of the cerro they 
discovered the multitude, and among them one 
borne on the shoulders of men, as if extended on a 
bier. Supposing that a battle was certain, the 
Spaniards recommended themselves to God, the 
chaplain held up a holy cross, and, prostrating them- 
selves before it, they took up their arms. As the 
Indians drew near to the cerro, they lowered to the 
ground the person whom they carried on their 
shoulders, who approached alone, threw down his 
bow and arrow, and, raising both hands, made a 
signal that he came in peace. Immediately all the 
Indians laid their bows and arrows on the ground, 
and, touching their fingers to the earth, kissed them, 
also in token of good-will. 

The chief advanced to the foot of the mound 
and began to ascend it. Don Francisco steppe. 


252 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


forward to meet him, and the Indian made him a 
profound reverence; Don Francisco received him 
with cordiality, and, taking him by the hand, con- 
ducted him to his quarters. 

This Indian was Tutul Xiu, the greatest lord in 
all that country, the lineal descendant of the royal 
house which once ruled over the whole land of 
Maya, and>then cacique of Mani. He said that, 
moved by the valour and perseverance of the Span- 
iards, he had come voluntarily to render obedience, 
and to offer his aid and that of his subjects for the 
pacification of the rest; and he brought a large 
present of turkeys, fruits, and other provisions. He 
had come to be their friend; he desired, also, to be 
a Christian, and asked the adelantado to go through 
some Christian ceremonies. The latter made a 
most solemn adoration to the holy cross, and Tutul 
Xiu, watching attentively, imitated the Spaniard as 
well as he could until, with many demonstrations 
of joy, he came to kiss the cross on his knees. The 
Spaniards were delighted, and, the aderation over, 
they remarked that this fortunate day for them was 
that of the glorious San Ildefonso, whom they im- 
mediately elected for their patron saint. 

Tutul Xia was accompanied by other caciques, 
whose names, as found in an Indian manuscript, 
have been handed down. ‘They remained with the 
Spaniards seventy days, and on taking leave, Tutul 
Xiu promised to send ambassadors to solicit the 
other chiefs, though they were not his vassals, to 


HISTORICAL NOTICE: 253 


render obedience to the Spaniards ; when, leaving 
them a great supply of provisions and many Indian 
servants, he returned to Mani. i 

He convoked all his Indians, and gave them no- 
tice of his intentions, and of the agreement he had 
made with the Spaniards; to which they all as- 
sented. 

Afterward he despatched the caciques who went 
with him to render submission to the Spaniards, as 
ambassadors to the Lords of Zotuta, called the Co- 
comes, and the other nations to the east as far as 
the region where now stands the city of Valladolid, 
making known to them his resolution, and the 
friendship he had contracted with the Spaniards, 
and beseeching them to do the same; representing 
that the Spaniards were determined to remain in 
the land, had established themselves in Campeachy, 
and were preparing to do so in 'Tihoo; reminding 
them how many battles they had fought, and how 
many lives of the natives had been lost; and in- 
forming them that he had experienced from the 
Spaniards while he remained with them good-will, 
and that he held it better for all his countrymen to 
follow his example, considering the dangers of the 
opposite course. » 

The ambassadors proceeded to the district of Zo 
tuta, and made known their embassy to Nachi Co- 
com, the principal lord of that territory. _ The lat- 
ter requested them to wait four or five days for their 
answer, and in the mean time convoked all his de- 


II 22 


254 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


pendant caciques, who, in concert with this chief, 
determined to make a great wild-boar hunt, osten- 
sibly to féte the ambassadors. Under this pretext, 
they enticed them from the inhabited parts of the 
country into a dense forest, and feasted them three 
days. On the fourth they assembled to eat be- 
neath a large sapote tree, and the last act of the 
feast was to cut the throats of the ambassadors, 
sparing but one, whom they charged to inform Tutul 
Xiu of their reception of his embassy, and to re- 
proach him with his cowardice; but though they 
spared the life of this one, they put out his eyes with 
an arrow, and sent him, under the charge of four 
captains, to the territory of ‘T'utul Xiu, where they 
left him and returned to their own country. 

Such were the unfortunate circumstances under 
which Mani became known to the Spaniards. It 
was the first interior town that submitted to their 
power, and by referring to the map, the reader will 
see that after our long, irregular, and devious route, 
we are at this moment but four leagues from Ti- 
cul, and but eleven from Uxmal by the road of the 
country, while the distance is much less in a 
straight line. 

Among the wonders unfolded by the discovery of 
these ruined cities, what made the strongest impres- 
sion on our minds was the fact that their immense 
population existed in a region so scantily supplied 
with water. ‘Throughout the whole country there 
is no stream, or spring, or living fountain, and, but for 


SCANTY SUPPLY OF WATER. 55 


the extraordinary caves and hollows in the rocks from 
which the inhabitants at this day drink, they must 
have been entirely dependant upon artificial fount- 
ains, and literally upon the rain that came down from 
heaven. But on this point there is one important 
consideration. ‘The aborigines of this country had 
no horses, or cattle, or large domestic animals, and’ 
the supply required for the use of man only was 
comparatively small. Perhaps at this day, with 
different wants and habits, the same country would 
not support the same amount of population. And, 
besides, the Indian now inhabiting .that dry and 
-thirsty region illustrates the effect of continual scar- 
city, habit, and training, in subduing the appetites. 
Water is to him, as to the Arab of the Desert, a 
scarce and precious commodity. When he puts 
down the load from his back, his body streaming 
with perspiration, a few sips of water dipped up in 
the palm of his hand from a hollow rock suffice to 
quench his thirst. Still, under any circumstances, 
the sources of supply present one of the most inter- 
esting features connected with the discovery of 
these ruined cities, and go to confirm belief in the 
vast numbers and power, as well as the laborious 
industry of the ancient inhabitants. 

It was late on Saturday afternoon when we 
reached Mani. The guarda of Indians had served 
their term of a week in attendance at the casa real, 
and were now retiring from office, as usual all in- 
toxicated, but we got a large room swept out, had it 


256 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


furnished with chairs and tables, and our hammocks 
hung up; and here, amid the wrecks of cities, we 
were almost in ruins ourselves. Before resorting to 
our hammocks we made an important and touching 
discovery, which was that we had but one clean 
camisa between us; and if the reader knew the ex- 
tent of our travelling wardrobe, he would, perhaps, be 
somewhat astonished that we had that. Neverthe- 
less, the discovery perplexed us. ‘The next day 
was Sunday ; all the village would appear in clean 
clothes ; it was mortifying that we could not do so 
too, and, besides, we had some little feeling on the 
score of personal comfort. In Europe, witha frock-. 
coat buttoned tight across the breast, black stock, 
and one pair of pantaloons, hat, and boots, the trav- 
eller is independent of the world, but not so under 
the hot sun of Yucatan. We sent Albino out to 
look for supplies, but he returned unsuccessful, 
though he did succeed in making a bargain with a 
woman to wash an entire change for us the next 
day; but she could hardly be made to understand 
that stockings and sheets were included in a change. 


BUYING A WARDROBE. 257 


CHAPTER XV. 


Buying a Wardrobe.—Crowd of Loungers.—Visit to the Ruins,— 
A long Edifice built by the Spaniards.—Interesting Well.—In- 
dian Legend.—The Mother of the Dwarf.—Exploration of the 
Well.—Remains of large Mounds.—Cogolludo.—Ancient and 
curious Painting.—Books and ancient Characters of the Indians 
burned by the Spaniards.—Archives of Mani.—Important Doc- 
uments.—Ancient Map.—Instrument endorsed on its Back. — 
Important Bearing of these Documents.—What was Uxmal t!— 
Argument.— No Vestiges of a Spanish Town at Uxmal.— 
Churches erected by the Spaniards in all their Settlements.— 
No Indications of a Church at Uxmal.—Conclusions.—Suspi- 
cions of the People.—Church and Convent.—Extensive View 
from the Top of the Church. 


Earty in the morning Albino was in quest of some 
gentleman who might have a spare camisa and pan- 
taloons which he would be willing to part with, and, 
by one of those rare pieces of good luck that some- 
times illuminate the path of a traveller, he procured 
both, the latter having an elegantly embroidered bo- 
som, which fell to Doctor Cabot; and, with my 
cast-off blouse, which was in better condition than 
his, and a thin frock-coat, that considered itself cast- 
off some time before, for myself, we were able to 
make a dashing appearance in the streets. 

Notwithstanding our perplexities, I had an un- 
common degree of satisfaction at waking up in 


Vou. IL—K x 


258 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Mani. I had heard of this place on my first visit to 
Uxmal, of relics and heirlooms in the hands of the 
cacique, and of ruins, which, however, we were ad- 
vised were not worth visiting. ‘The morning, ney- 
ertheless, did not open with much promise. On 
first emerging we found about the door of the casa 
real a crowd of loungers, of that mixed race who 
might trace their ancestry to the subjects of Tutul 
Xiu and the conquerors, possessing all the bad qual- 
ities of both, and but few of the good traits of either. 
Some of them. were intoxicated, and there were 
many half-grown, impudent boys, who kept close 
to us, watching every movement, and turning aside 
to laugh when they could do so unobserved. 

We set out to look at the ruins, and the crowd 
followed at our heels. At the end of a street lead- 
ing to the well we saw a long building, pierced in 
the middle by the street, and part still standing on 
each side. We saw ata glance that it was not the 
work of the antiguos, but had been erected by the 
Spaniards since the conquest, and yet we were con- 
ducted to it as one of the same class with those we 
had found all over the country ; though we did meet 
with one intelligent person, who smiled at the igno- 
rance of the people, and said that it was a palace of 
Ei Rey, or the king, Montejo. Its true history is 
perhaps as much unknown as that of the more an- 
cient buildings. In its tottering front were inter- 
spersed sculptured stones taken from the aboriginal 
edifices, and thus, in its own decay, it publishes the 


AN INTERESTING WELL. 259 


sad story that it had risen upon the ruins of anoth- 
er race. 

Near this building, and at the corner of the street, 
is the well referred to in the conclusion of my le- 
gend of the House of the Dwarf at Uxmal. “The 
old woman (the mother of the Dwarf) then died, 
but at the Indian village of Mani there is a deep 
well, from which opens a cave that leads under 
ground an immense distance to Merida. In this 
cave, on the bank of a stream, under the shade 
of a large tree, sits an old woman; with a serpent by 
her side, who sells water in small quantities, not for 
money, but only for a criatura, or baby, to give the 
serpent to eat; and this old woman is the mother 
of the Dwarf.” ‘The entrance to the well was un- 
der a great shelf of overhanging rock, forming the 
mouth of a magnificent cavern, wild enough to sus- 
tain the legend. ‘The roof was high, and the villa- 
gers had constructed steps, by which, walking erect, 
we reached a large pool of water, whence women 
were filling their cantaros. At one side was an open- 
ing in the rock above, which should have been, and 
was intended to be, made directly over the water, 
for the purpose of drawing it up in buckets; and as 
this mistake occurred in a cave where the water is 
but a short distance from the mouth, and the pas- 
sage is wide, it shows the difficulty, without any 
knowledge of the use of instruments, of fixing on 
the surface the precise point over the water in the 
other caves, which have long, narrow, and winding 
passages. 


260 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


In the yards of some houses on a street at the 
rear of the casa real were the remains of large 
mounds. In the wall round the square of the church 
was a large circular upright stone, like those here- 
tofore called picotes, or whipping-posts, and our 
guide told us that in the suburbs there were other 
mounds; but, without leaving the streets, we saw 
enough to satisfy us that Mani stood on the site of 
an ancient town of the same general character with 
all the others. 

Returning to the casa real, we found a new guar- 
da, who came into office rather more intoxicated 
than their predecessors in going out. Albino had 
inquired of the cacique for the ancient relics of 
which we had heard accounts, and the Indians 
brought a copy of Cogolludo, wrapped up and treas- 
ured with great care in the casa real. ‘This did not 
astonish us much, and they opened the book and 
pointed out a picture, the only one in it, being a 
representation of the murder of the ambassadors of 
Tutul Xiu; and while we were looking at it they 
brought out and unrolled on the floor an old paint- 
ing on cotton cloth, being the original from which 
Cogolludo had the engraving made. ‘The design 
was a coat of arms bordered with the heads of the 
murdered ambassadors, one of which has an arrow 
fixed in the temple, intended to represent the am- 
bassador who had his eyes put out with this weap- 
on. In the centre is a tree growing out of a box, 
representing the sapote tree at Zotuta, under which 


ANCIENT PAINTING 261 


the murder was committed, and which, the Indians 
say, is still standing. ‘This tree I shall have occa- 
sion to mention again hereafter. ‘The painting had 
evidently been executed by an Indian, and probably 
very near the time of the occurrence which it was 
intended to commemorate. Cogolludo refers to it 
as an ancient and interesting relic in his time, and, 
of course, it is much more so now. It is an object 
of great reverence among the Indians of Mani. In 
fact, throughout our whole journeyings, either in 
Central America or Yucatan, it was the first and 
only instance in which we met with any memorial 
in the hands of the Indians, tending to keep alive 
the memory of any event in their history ; but this 
must not be imputed to them as a reproach. His- 
tory, dark as it is on other points, shows clearly 
enough that this now abject and. degraded race did 
cling with desperate and fatal tenacity to the mem- 
ory of those ancestors whom they know not now; 
the records of their conquerors show the ruthless 
and savage policy pursued by the Spaniards to root 
this memory from their minds; and here, in this 
very town of Mani, we have a dark and memorable 
instance. 

In 1571, twenty-nine years after the foundaticn 
of Merida, some Indians of Mani relapsed and be 
came idolaters, practising in secret their ancient 
rites. 

Intelligence of their backsliding reached the ears 
of the provincial in Merida, who came to Mani in 


262 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


person, and forthwith established himself as inquisi- 
tor. Some who had died obstinately in the secret 
practice of idolatrous rites had been buried in sacred 
eround; he ordered their bodies to be dug up, and 
their bones thrown into the fields; and, in order to 
strike terror into the minds of the Indians, and root 
out the memory of their ancient rites, on a day ap- 
pointed for that purpose, attended by the principal 
of the Spanish nobility, and in the presence of a 
great multitude of Indians, he made them bring to- 
gether all their books and ancient characters, and 
publicly burned them, thus destroying at once the 
history of their antiquities. ‘hose envious of the 
blessed father, says the historian, gave him the title 
of cruel; but very differently thought of the action 
the Doctor Don Pedro Sanchez de Aguilar, in his 
information against the idolaters of this country. 

The sight of this painting made me more earnest 
in pushing my inquiries for other memorials, but 
this was all; the Indians had no more to show, and 
{ then inquired of the alcalde for ancient archives. 
He knew nothing about them, but said we could 
examine for ourselves, and the key of the apartment 
in which they were kept was with the second al- 
calde. 

The schoolmaster of the village, who had re- 
ceived a letter in our behalf from our friend the 
cura Carillo of Ticul, accompanied me to look for 
the second alcalde, and, after tracing him to several 
places, we procured the keys, and returned to the 


ARCHIVES OF MANIL. 263 


casa real, and when we unlocked the door we had. 
thirty or forty persons to enter with us. The books 
and archives of the municipality were in the back 
room, and among them was one large volume which 
had an ancient and venerable appearance, being bound 
in parchment, tattered, and worm-eaten, and having a 
flap to close like that of a pocket-book. Unhappily, 
it was written in the Maya language, and perfectly 
unintelligible. [he dates, however, showed that these 
venerable pages were a record of events which had 
taken place within a very few years after the entry 
of the Spaniards into the country; and as I pored 
over them, I was strongly impressed with the belief 
that directly, or in some incidental expressions, they 
contained matter which might throw some light 
upon the subject of my investigations. 

Being Sunday, a crowd of curious and lazy look- 
ers-on surrounded the table, but they could not dis- 
tract my attention. I found that, though all could 
speak the Maya, none could read it. Nevertheless, 
I continued to turn over the pages. On the 157th 
page, in a document which bore the date of 1557, 
I saw the word Vzmal. Here I stopped, and called 
upon the by-standers. ‘I‘he schoolmaster was the 
only one who could even attempt to give me any 
assistance, but he was not familiar with the Maya 
as a written tongue, and said that this, having been 
written nearly three hundred years before, differed 
somewhat from that of the present day, and was 
more difficult to comprehend. Other places were 


264 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


referred to in the document, the names of which 
were familiar to me, and I observed that the words 
immediately preceding Vxmal were different from 
those preceding the other names. ‘T’he presump- 
tion was that Uxmal was referred to in some differ- 
ent sense. 

In turning to the end of the document I found a 
sheet of foolscap paper, which had been secured in 
the book, but was then loose; and upon it was a 
curious map, also dated in 1557, of which Mani. 
- was the centre. Vxmal was laid down upon. it, 
and indicated by a peculiar sign, different from that 
of all the other places named. On the back of the 
map was endorsed a long instrument of the same 
date, in which the word Vazmal again occurred, and 
which, beyond doubt, contained matter relating to 
other places named in the map, and to their con- 
dition or state of being at that time. With the as- 
sistance of the schoolmaster I compared this with 
the one written in the book, and ascertained that 
the latter was a recorded copy of the other. 

A few pages beyond was another document, bear- 
mg date in 1556, one year earlier, and in this, 
again, the word Vxmal appeared. ‘I'he schoolmas- 
ter was able to give me some general idea of the 
contents, but he could not translate with facility 
nor, as he said, very accurately. he alcalde sent 
for an Indian escribano, or clerk, of the municipal- 
ity; but he was not in the village, and an old In- 
dian was brought who had formerly served in that 


il 





IU a 


xe 557 





= Fs pot 
“ee nears 


- 58 


INDIAN MAP 





eat o\ ps 
Camal ste 


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4 




















Mani 28 de Marzo de 142. 


0 tace page 268, Vol. 2. 








Charles Coplev, Sa.NK 


Ais a) rae is 
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a win iRei a ine 1 om ¥ apelin is ae 
ins ik ; a oh , 


aie a 


Po PaGae ai 


Aah) 


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ANCIENT MAP OF MANIL. 265 


capacity; but, after staring stupidly at the pages as 
if looking at a row of machetes, he said he had 
grown so old that he had forgotten how to read. 
My only course was to have copies made, which 
the schoolmaster set about immediately, and late in 
the afternoon he placed them in my hands. In the 
evening, by the permission of the alcalde, I took 
the book to my quarters, and looked over every 
page, running my finger along every line, in search 
of the word Uxmal, but I did not meet with it in 
any other place, and probably the documents refer- 
red to are the most ancient, if not the only ones in 
existence of ancient date, in which that name is 
mentioned. 

The copies I carried with me to my friend Don 
Pio Perez, who discovered some errors, and, at 
his instance, my good friend the cura Carillo went 
over to Mani, and made exact copies of the map 
and documents. He also made diligent search 
through the Maya archives for other papers men- 
tioning Uxmal, or referring to it in any way, but 
found none. He added to his copies a translation, 
which was revised by Don Pio, and it is from his 
version that what follows is prepared. 

The engraving opposite is a copy of the ancient 
map, the original of which covers one side of a 
sheet of foolscap paper. | 

The instrument endorsed on the back, as trans- 
lated, reads as follows: 

“Memorandum of having divided the lands by 

Vor. I—L i 23 


266 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


D. Francisco Montejo Xiu, governor of this pueblo 
of Mani, and the governors of the pueblos who are 
under him. — 

«There met together Don Francisco Montejo 
Xiu, governor of this pueblo, and of the jurisdiction 
of Tutul Xiu; Don Francisco Che, governor of 
Ticul, Don Francisco Pacab, governor of Ox- 
cutzcab, Don Diego Vs, governor of ‘Tekax, Don 
Alonzo Pacab, governor of Jan-monal, Don Juan 
Che, governor of Mama, Don Alonzo Xiu, gov- 
ernor of T'ekit, and the other governors within the 
jurisdiction of Mani, together with the regidores, for 
the purpose of regulating the landmarks, and main- 
taining the right of each village respecting the fell- 
ing of trees, and to fix and settle with crosses the 
boundaries of the milpas of their respective villages, 
dividing them into parts according to their situation, 
showing the lands pertaining to each. The people 
of Canul, those of Acanceh, of Ticoh, those of 
Cosuma, those of Zotuta and its jurisdiction, those 
of 'Tixcacab, a part of those of Peto, Colotmul, and 
Zuccacab, after having conferred together, declared 
it necessary to cite the governors of the villages, and 
we answered that they should come to this audien- 
cia of Mani, each one bringing with him two regi- 
dores to be present at the division of the lands 
Don Juan Canul, governor of Nunkini, and Fran- 
cisco Ci, his colleague; D. Juan Cocom, governor 
of Ticoh, D. Gaspar Tun of Cosuma, Don Juan 


Cocom, governor of Sotuta, D. Gonzalo Tuyn, 


IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS. 267 


vovernor of ‘Tixcacab, D. Juan Han of Yaxcacab; 
these received the donation on the fifth day from 
Merida, consisting of one hundred ‘paties’ of fine 
sheets, each pati or cotton cloth, and thus they con- 
tinued receiving by twenties for a beginning, being 
rolled up by Juan Nic, Pedro May, and Pedro Co- 
ba, assembled in the house of Don Francisco Mon- 
tejo Xiu, governor of the village of Mani; three 
arrobas of wax, which were sold by them, Don 
Juan Cocom of Zotuta having first received them 
In Talchaquillo, on the road to Merida, toward the 
north of said village, the cross was planted, and called 
Hoal. In Sacmuyalna they put a cross; this is the 
limit of the lands of those of Ticoh. In Kochilha 
a cross was placed. In Cisinil, Toyotha, Chulul 
Ytza, Ocansip, and Tiphal, crosses were placed ; 
this is the boundary of the milpas and the lands of 
those of Maxcant-al Canules. In Kaxabceh Chac- 
nocac, Calam, Sactos, are the limits of the fields of 
the Canules, and there crosses were placed. In 
Zemesahal and in Opal were planted crosses: these 
are the limits of the grounds of the villagers of Kil- 
hini and Becal. In Yaxche Sucilha Xcalchen, 
Tehico Sahcabchen Xbacal, Opichen, crosses were 
planted. ‘[‘wenty-two is the number of the places 
marked, and they returned to raise new landmarks, 
by the command of the judge, Felipe Manriques, 
specially commissioned by his excellency the gov- 
ernor, when he arrived at Uzmal, accompanied by 
his interpreter, Gaspar Antonio,” &c. The rest of 
this document I omit. 


268 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The other document begins as follows: “On 
the tenth of August, in the year one thousand five 
hundred and fifty-six, the special judge arrived with 
his interpreter, Gaspar Antonio, from Vamal, when 
they reached this chief village of Mani, with the 
other caciques that followed them, Don Francisco 
Che, governor of Ticul, Don Francisco Pacab, gov- 
ernor of T’ekax, Don Alonzo Pacab, governor of 
Jan, Don Juan Che, governor of Mama, Don Alon- 
zo Xiu, governor of Tekit, with the other govern- 
ors of his suite, Don Juan Cacom, governor of T'e- 
koh, with Don Gaspar Fun, Don Juan Camal, gov- 
ernor of Nunhini, Don Francisco Ciz, other gov- 
ernor of Cosuma, Don Juan Cocom, governor of 
Zotuta, Don Gonzalo Fuya, governor of Tixcacal- 
tuyt, Don Juan Han, governor of Yaxcaba; those 
were brought to this chief village of Mani from Vz- 
mal, with the others named, and the judge Felipe 
Manrique, with Gaspar Antonio, commissioned in- 
terpreter.” Of this, too, the rest is omitted, not be- 
ing relevant to this subject. 

The reader will observe that, fifteen or sixteen 
years after the foundation of Merida, Mani had the 
same pre-eminence of position as when Tutul Xiu 
went up with his dependant caciques to make sub- 
mission to the Spaniards. It was the “ chief vil- 
lage,” the central point for meeting and settling the 
boundaries of villages; but it appears, on the face 
of these documents, that great changes had already 
occurred. In fact, even at that early date we see 


BEARING OF THESE DOCUMENTS. 269 


the entering wedge, which, since driven to its mark, 
has overturned all the institutions and destroyed for- 
ever the national character of the aboriginal inhab- 
itants. ‘The Indians are still rulers over their vil- 
lages, and meet to settle their boundary lines, but 
they meet under the direction of Don Felipe Man- 
riques, a Spanish officer, specially commissioned for 
that purpose ; they establish their boundaries by 
planting crosses, symbols introduced by the Span- 
iards; they have lost their proud and independent 
national title of cacique, and are styled Dons and 
G'obernadores ; under the gentle patting of the hand 
destined soon to crush their race, they have aban- 
doned even the names received from their fathers, 
and have adopted, either voluntarily or by coercion, 
the Christian names of the Spaniards; and the 
Lord of Mani himself, the lineal descendant of the 
royal house of Maya, either that same Tutul Xiu 
who first submitted himself and his vassals to the 
dominion of Don Francisco Montejo, or his imme- 
diate descendant, in compliment to the conqueror 
and destroyer of his race, appears meekly and in- 
gloriously under the name of Don Francisco Xiu. 
But it is not for the sake of this melancholy tale 
that I have introduced these documents ; they have 
another and a more important bearing. By this 
act of partition it appears that, in 1557, “the 
judge arrwed at Uxmal, accompanied by his inter- 
preter Don Antonio Gaspar.” And by the agree 
ment it appears that in 1556, one year previous, the 


270 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


special judge arrwved with his interpreter, Gaspar 
Antonio, from Uaxmal, when they reached the chief 
village of Mani with the other caciques who follow- 
ed them. The names are all given, and it is said 
these “were brought to this chief village of Mani 
_from Uxmal, with the others named, and the judge 
Felipe Manrique and Gaspar Antonio, commissioned 
interpreter.” 

Now what was Uxmal? It is clear, beyond all 
question, that it was a place at which persons could 
arrive, at which they could be, and from which they 
could come. J am safe in supposing that it was not 
a mere hacienda, for at that early period of the con- 
quest haciendas had not begun to be established ; 
and, besides, the title papers of Don Simon Peon 
show that the first grant of it was made for the pur- 
poses of a hacienda one hundred and forty-four or 
one hundred and forty-five years afterward, at which 
time the land was waste and belonged to the crown, 
and had small settlements of Indians upon it, who 
were publicly and notoriously worshipping the devil 
in the ancient buildings. It was not, then, a hacien- 
da. Was it a Spanish town! Ifso, some remains 
would have been visible at the time of the grant, 
and the great object of driving away the Indians 
and breaking up their idolatrous worship would al- 
ready have been accomplished. There is.no indi- 
cation, record, or tradition that a Spanish town was 
ever established at Uxmal; the general belief is that 
there never was any; Don Simon is sure of it, and 


WHAT WAS UXMAL! 271 


in that confidence I fully participate. But as the 
strongest proof on this point, I call in this ancient 
‘map. It isa fact perhaps more clearly established 
than any other in the history of the conquest, that 
in every Indian village in which the Spaniards made 
a settlement, with that strong religious enthusiasm 
which formed so remarkable a feature in their daring 
and unscrupulous character, their first act was the 
erection of a church. Now it will be remarked that 
nearly all the places laid down 6n the map are indi- 
cated by the sign of a church; most of them now 
exist, all have aboriginal names, and the inference 
is that they were at that time existing aboriginal 
towns, in which the Spaniards had erected church- 
es, or had taken the preliminary steps for doing so. 
Several of these places we had visited; we had 
seen their churches reared upon the ruins of ancient 
buildings, and in their immediate vicinity vestiges 
and extensive ruins of the same general character 
with those at Uxmal. 

But Uxmal, it will be seen, is not indicated by 
the sign of achurch. This I consider evidence that 
no church was erected there, and that while the 
Spaniards were establishing settlements in other In- 
dian towns, for some reason, now unknown, per- 
haps on account of its unhealthiness, at Uxmal they 
made none. But it will be seen farther, that Ux- 
mal not only is not indicated by the sign of a church, 
but is indicated by one entirely different, of a pecu- 
liar and striking character, which was manifestly 


272 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


never adopted from caprice or without cause. In 
my opinion, this sign was intended to represent what 
would most clearly distinguish a large place with- 
out a church from those in which churches had 
been erected, the characteristic ornaments on the 
fronts of the aboriginal buildings, as now seen at 
Uxmal. It is the same obvious character or sym- 
bol which might serve at this day to indicate on 
a map a city like Uxmal, and to my mind the con- 
clusion is irresistible that at the time when the 
Judge Don Felipe Manriques arrived at Uxmal and 
arrived from Uxmal, it was an existing inhabited ab- 
original town. Jarther, in the scanty light that we 
have on this subject, the slightest incidental circum- 
stance Is not to be disregarded. In each reference to 
his arrival at or from Uxmal, it is mentioned that he 
was accompanied by his interpreter. ° He would not 
need an interpreter if the place was desolate, or if 
it was a hacienda, or a Spanish town. He could 
need an interpreter only when the place was occu- 
pied by the aborigines, whose language he did not 
understand, and such, I cannot help believing, was 
actually the case. I can easily believe, too, that its 
depopulation and desolation within the hundred and 
forty years preceding the royal grant for the purpo- 
ses of a hacienda, were the inevitable consequence 
of the policy pursued by the Spaniards in their sub- 
‘ugation of the country. I would remark that there 
is no doubt of the authenticity of these documents. 
They are true records of events which occurred at 
that early period of the conquest — _‘T’o this day the 


CHURCH AND CONVENT. 273 


map and act of partition are good evidence in all 
legal proceedings affecting the title to lands in that 
neighbourhood, and I afterward saw them enrolled 
as proofs and forming part of the record in a con- 
tested and protracted Jawsuit. 

I make no apology for dwelling so long upon this 
ancient map. Perhaps, however, it will not interest 
the reader so much as it did ourselves and the half- 
breeds of Mani. ‘These ascribed our curiosity toa 
much less innocent motive than that of investiga- 
ting the history of ancient cities. In consequence 
of some recent difficulties, los Ingleses were some- 
what objects of suspicion; the idlers of Mani made 
close inquiries of Albino touching our reasons for 
wanting the map, and, not being able to compre- 
hend his explanations, which were, perhaps, not very 
clear, they said that we intended to seek out and seize 
the strong points for fortifications; and, with a spirit 
unlike that of their warlike sires, Spanish or Indian, 
quietly made up their minds that we intended to re- 
duce the country and make slaves of them. 

Toward evening we strolled over to the church 
and convent, which are among the grandest of these 
early structures erected in Yucatan, proud monu- 
ments of the zeal and labour of the Franciscan fri- 
ars. ‘They were built under the direction of Friar 
Juan of Merida, distinguished as a warrior and con- 
queror, but who threw aside the sword and put on 
the habit of amonk. According to Cogolludo, they 
were both finished in the short space of seven 


Vou. IL—Mm 


274 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


months, the cacique who had been lord of that 
country furnishing six thousand Indians. Built 
upon the ruins of another race, they are now them- 
selves tottering and going to decay. 

The convent had two stories, with a great corri- 
dor all round; but the doors were broken and the 
windows wide open, rain beat into the rooms, and 
grass grew on the floor. 

The roof of the church formed a grand pronie- 
nade, commanding an almost boundless view of the 
great region’ of country of which it was once the 
chief place and centre. Far as the eye could reach 
was visible the great sierra, running from east to 
west, a dark line along the plain. All the rest was 
plain, dotted only by small clearings for villages. 
My guide pointed out and named Tekax, Akil, Ox- 
cutzcab, Schochnoche, Pustonich, Ticul, Jan, Cha- 
pap, Mama, Tipika, Tab, the same villages laid 
down in the ancient map, whose caciques came up, 
three hundred years before, to settle the boundaries 
of their lands; and he told me that, under a clearer 
atmosphere, more were visible. Some I had visited, 
and had seen the crumbling remains of the ancient 
town; and looking at them from the roof of the 

church, the old map gave them a vividness, reality, 
and life, as they had been three hundred years be- 
fore, more exciting than the wildest speculations in 
regard to lost and unknown races. ‘The sun went 
down, and the gloom of night gathered over the 
great plain, emblematic of the fortunes and the fate 
of its ancient inhabitants. 


ORNITHOLOGY OF YUCATAN. 270 


CHAPTER XVI. 


Departure from Mani.—Ornithology of Yucatan.—Discoveries of 
Doctor Cabot.—Village of Tixmeach.—Peto.—Church and Con- 
vent.—News from Home.—Don Pio Perez.—Indian Almanac. 
—A Fragment of Maya Manuscript.— Journey resumed. — 
Taihxiu.—Yaxcala.—Pisté.—Arrival at Chichen.—First Sight 
of the Ruins.—The Hacienda.—A strange Reception.—Lodg- 
ings.—Situation of the Ruins.—Mr. Burke.—Magnificent Ap- 
pearance of the Ruins.—Derivation of the Word Chichen.—Se- 
notes.—Different from those before presented.—Mischievous 
Boys.—Failure of the Corn Crop. 


Monpay, March 7. Before daylight the next 
morning we left Mani. | 

Our present mode of travelling favoured Doctor 
Cabot’s particular objects. His best chance for pro- 
curing birds was always on the road, the time pass- 
ed at ruins, on account of the density of the woods 
and underbrush, being in a great measure lost to 
him. Yucatan had never before been explored or- 
nithologically ; or, to speak more correctly, the only 
person who had given any attention to that branch 
of its natural history, a German, died in the country ; 
his collections were scattered and his notes lost. 
Doctor Cabot’s field of operations, therefore, was, 
like our own, entirely new; and our attention be- 


276 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ing constantly directed to the brilliant plumage of 
the birds and their interesting habits, they became 
identified with the purposes of our journey. It was 
my intention to obtain from Doctor Cabot, and pub- 
lish in this work, a full essay on the ornithology of 
the country, but I find my materials so abundant 
and my volumes growing to such a bulk that com- 
pression has become a work of serious necessity. 
Doctor Cabot has published, in the Boston Jour- 
nal of Natural History, an account of his observa- 
tions upon one rare and splendid bird, the ocellated 
turkey, of which one stuffed specimen at the Jardin 
des Plantes, and another in the collection of the 
Earl of Derby, are the only two known to exist, and 
of which, besides obtaining a stuffed specimen, we 
succeeded in transporting two living birds from the 
interior, and embarking them for home, but lost 
them overboard on the voyage. I have hopes that 
he may be induced to publish a full account of his 
observations upon the ornithology of Yucatan. In 
the mean time [ give in the Appendix a memoran- 
dum of about one hundred birds observed by him in 
that country, which are also found within the United 
States, and have been figured and described by 
Wilson, Bonaparte, Audubon, and Nuttall; of oth- 
ers, which are well known to the scientific world 
for their striking brilliancy of plumage, having been 
observed in different parts of South and Central 
America, but are known only by skins prepared and 
sold in the country, and whose habits have never 


TIXMEACH.—PETO. 244 


been described; and a third class, more important 
to the naturalist than either of the others, compri- 
sing birds entirely unknown until discovered by him 
in Yucatan. The memorandum is accompanied 
by a few notes referring to the places and circum- 
stances under which they were procured; and in 
referring to them in the Appendix, I would take 
occasion to say that some of the most really import- 
ant matter in this work is to be found in that place, 
for the sake of which I have considered it expedi- 
ent materially to abridge my narrative. — 

But to resume. We stopped that night at Tix- 
meach, eight leagues distant, a neat village with a 
well one hundred and forty-four feet deep, at which 
every woman drawing from it left a handful of maize 
for a cantaro of water, and we paid a medio for wa- 
tering our horses; and setting out before daylight 
the next morning, at half past nine we reached 
Peto, where we found Mr. Catherwood and our 
luggage on the hands of our friend Don Pio Perez 

Peto is the head of a department, of which Don 
Pio Perez was gefe politico. It was a well-built 
town, with streets indicated, as at Merida, by figures 
on the tops of the houses. The church and con- 
vent were large and imposing edifices, and the living 
of the cura one of the most valuable in the church, 
being worth six or seven thousand dollars per an- 
num. 

At this place we found letters and packets of 
newspapers from home, forwarded to us from Meri- 

II 24 


278 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


da, and, except attending to them, our time was de- 
voted almost exclusively to long and interesting con- 
versations with Don Pio on matters connected with 
the antiquities of the country. | cannot sufficiently 
express my obligations to this gentleman for the 
warm interest he took in facilitating our pursuits, and 
for the labour he bestowed ungrudgingly in our be- 
half. Besides preparing a series of verbal forms and 
other illustrations of the grammar of the Maya lan- 
guage, according to memoranda made by the same 
distinguished gentleman before referred to, he gave 
me a vocabulary in manuscript, containing more than 
four thousand Maya words, and an almanac, prepar- 
ed by himself, according to the Indian system of 
computation, for the year from the 16th of July, 1841, 
to the 15th of July, 1842, a translation of which is 
published in the Appendix, as a key or supplement 
to his calendar.* 

Besides these, he furnished me with the copy of 
one other document, which, if genuine and authen- 
tic, throws more light upon aboriginal history than 
any other known to be in existence. It is a frag- 
ment of a Maya manuscript, written from memory 
by an Indian, at some time not designated, and en 
titled “ Principal epochs of the ancient history of 
Yucatan.” 

It purports to give the series of “katunes,” or 
epochs, from the time of the departure of the Tol- 
tecs from the country of 'T'ulapan until their arrival 
at this, as it is called, island of Chacno witan, occu- 

* See Appendix to vol. i. 


MAYA MANUSCRIPT. 279 


pying, according to Don Pio’s computation of ka- 
tunes, the lapse of time corresponding with that be- 
tween the years 144 and 217 of the Christian era. 

It assigns dates to the discovery of Bacalar and 
then of Chichen Itza, both within the three epochs 
corresponding with the time between A.D. 360 and 
A.D. 432; the colonization of Champoton, and 
its destruction; the times of wandering through 
the uninhabited forests, and establishing themselves 
a second time at Chichen Itza, within epochs cor- 
responding with the lapse between A.D. 888 and 
A.D. 936. 

The epoch of the colonization of Uxmal, corre- 
sponding with the years between A.D. 936 and 1176 
A.D.; the epochs of wars between the governors of 
Chichen Itza and Mayapan; the destruction of the 
latter city by the Uitzes of the Sierras, or highland- 
ers; and the arrival of the Spaniards, adding that 
“Holy men from the Kast came with them ;” and the 
manuscript terminates with the epoch of the first 
baptism and the arrival of the first bishop. 

I shall make no comment upon the subject mat- 
ter of this manuscript. How far it is to be regard- 
ed as authentic Iam not able to say, but as the only 
known manuscript in existence that purports to be 
written by an Indian in his native language, giving 
an account of the events in the ancient history of 
this country, I publish it entire in the Appendix. 
It may conflict in some particulars with opinions 


280 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


expressed by me, but I consider the discovery of the 
truth on this subject as far more important than the 
confirmation of any theory of my own; and I may 
add that, in general, it bears out and sustains the 
views presented in these pages. 

On the afternoon of the 11th of March we bade 
farewell to Don Pio Perez, and set out for Chichen. 
Kver since we left home we had had our eyes upon 
this place. We had become eager to reach it, and 
the increasing bulk of these volumes warns me that 
I must not now linger on the road. [I shall there- 
fore barely say that the first night we stopped at 
the village of T'aihxiu, the second at Yaxcaba, and 
at noon of the third day we reached Pisté, about 
two miles distant from Chichen. We had heard 
some unpropitious accounts concerning the hospi- 
tality of the proprietor of the hacienda, and thought 
it safer not to alarm him. by going upon him with 
appetites sharpened by a hard day’s ride, but first to 
lay the village under a moderate contribution. 

At four o’clock we left Pisté, and very soon 
we saw rising high above the plain the Castillo 
of Chichen. In half an hour we were among 
the ruins of this ancient city, with all the great 
buildings in full view, casting prodigious shadows 
over the plain, and presenting a spectacle which, 
even after all that we had seen, once more exci- 
ted in us emotions of wonder. ‘The camino real 
ran through the midst of them, and the field was so 
open that, without dismounting, we rode close in 


: 


ARRIVAL AT CHICHEN. 284 


to some of the principal edifices. Involuntarily we 
lingered, but night was approaching, and, fairly 
dragging ourselves away, we rode on, and in a few 
minutes reached the hacienda. Vaqueros were 
shouting, and a large drove of cattle was pouring in 
at the gate. We were about following, but a crowd 
of men and women on the steps of the hacienda 
shouted to us not to come in, and a man ran to- 
ward us, throwing up both hands, and shut the gate 
directly in our faces. This promised us another 
Don Gregorio welcome; but this ominous demon- 
stration did not mean anything churlish; on the 
contrary, all was done out of kindness. We had 
been expected for three months. Through the 
agency of friends the proprietor had advised the 
major domo of our intended visit, directing him to 
do all in his power to make us comfortable, and it 
was for this reason that the latter had ordered the 
gate to be shut upon us, for, as the man who did 
it told us, the hacienda was overrun with women 
and children, and there was no room for another 
hammock. He conducted us to the church, stand- 
ing in a fine situation, and offered us the sacris- 
tia, or vestry-room, which was new, clean, and 
had plastered walls, but it was small, and had only 
knobs for two hammocks. It had a door of com- 
munication with the church, and he said we might 
swing a third hammock in the latter, but it was to- 
ward the end of a fiesta, the Indians might want to 
use the altar, and we had some scruples. 


Vou. IL—N Nn 


282 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Our alternative was a house directly opposite the 
gate of the hacienda, to which there was no objec- 
tion on the score of size, for as yet its dimensions ° 
were unlimited, as it was merely a frame of poles 
supporting a thatched roof, with a great pile of lime 
and sand in the centre, intended to be made into 
walls. The proprietor was erecting it. expressly 
for the accommodation of travellers. While we re- 
sided in it, the pile of lime and sand was converted 
to its destined purpose, and we were plastered in ; 
so that the next visiter to these ruins will find a 
good house ready for his reception. ‘The major 
domo wished us to take our meals at the hacienda, 
but as we had all our travelling equipage, we again 
organized for housekeeping, and to that end we 
had an unusual proportion of comforts. Besides 
the resources of the hacienda, we had the village 
of Pisté at command, and Valladolid being but six 
hours’ distance, we prepared an order for supplies 
to be sent off the next day. 

The next morning, under the guidance of an In- 
dian of the hacienda, we prepared for a preliminary 
survey. The ruins of Chichen lie on a hacien- 
da, called by the name of the ancient city. It is 
the property of Don Juan Sosa, and was set off to 
him, on the decease of his father and an apportion- 
ment of his estate, with cattle, horses, and mules, at 
a valuation of between five and six thousand dol- 
lars. As with most of the lands in that neighbour- 
hood, the fee is in the government, and the propri 


RUINS OF CHICHEN. 283 


etor is entitled »nly to the majores, or improve- 
ments. 

The ruins are nine leagues from Valladolid, the 
camino real to which passes directly through the 
field. ‘The great buildings tower on both sides of 
the road in full sight of all passers-by, and from 
the fact that the road is much travelled, the ruins 
of Chichen are perhaps more generally known to 
the people of the country than any other in Yuca- 
tan. It is an interesting fact, however, that the 
first stranger who ever visited them was a native 
of New-York, whom we afterward met at Val- 
.adolid, and who is now again residing in this 
city. | | 

Immediately on our arrival at Chichen we heard 
of a paysanno, or countryman, Don Juan Burque, 
enginero en la machina de Valladolid, the English 
of which is, Mr. John Burke, engineer in the fac- 
tory. In 1828 Mr. Burke came from Valladolid to 
the village of Cawa, six leagues distant from Chi- 
chen. While making excursions in the neighbour- 
hood, ene of the young men told him of old build- 
ings on this hacienda, from one of which Vallado- 
lid was visible. Mr. Burke rode over, and on the 
fourth of July stood on the top of the Castillo, spy- 
glass in hand, looking out for Valladolid. ‘Two 
years afterward, in 1840, they were visited by the 
Baron Frederichstah], and by him first brought to 
the notice of the public, both in Europe and this 


£84 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


country; and | take occasion to say that this visit 
was made in the prosecution of a route recom- 
mended to him by me after my return from my for- 
mer interrupted journey of exploration among the 
ruins of Yucatan. 

But to return. -From the door of our hut some 
of the principal buildings were in sight. We went 
first to those on the opposite side of the camino real 
The path led through the cattle-yard of the hacienda, 
from which we passed out at one end by a range 
of bars into the field of ruins, partially wooded, but 
the greater part open and intersected by cattle-paths. 
Garrapatas were as abundant as ever, and perhaps 
more so from the numerous cattle running over the 
plain, but the luxuries of an open country, and the 
facility of moving from place to place, were so great, 
that these could not mar our satisfaction, which was 
raised to the highest pitch by the ruins themselves. 
These were, indeed, magnificent. The buildings 
were large, and some were in good preservation; in 
general, the facades were not so elaborately orna- 
mented as some we had seen, seemed of an older 
date, and the sculpture was ruder, but the interior 
apartments contained decorations and devices that 
were new to us, and powerfully interesting. All 
the principal buildings were within a comparatively 
small compass ; in fact, they were in such proximity, 
and the facilities for moving among them were so 
great, that by one o'clock we had visited every 


SENOTES. - 285 


building, examined every apartment, and arranged 
the whole plan and order of work. ‘This over, we 
went to join Doctor Cabot, who was in the mean 
time pursuing an independent occupation, but on 
joint account, and for joint benefit. 

The name of Chichen is another instance added 
to those already given, showing the importance at- 
tached in that dry country to the possession of 
water. It is compounded of the two Maya words 
chi, mouth, and chen, well, and signifies the mouth 
of the well. Among the ruins are two great se- 
notes, which, beyond doubt, furnished water to the 
inhabitants of the ancient city. Since the estab- 
lishment of a hacienda and the construction of a 
well, these had fallen into disuse. Doctor Cabot 
had undertaken to open a path in one of them down 
to the water, for the purpose of bathing, which, in 
that hot climate, was as refreshing as food. We 
came upon him just as he had finished, and, besides 
his Indian workmen, he had the company of a large 
party of Mestizo boys from the village of Pisté, 
who were already taking advantage of his labours, 
and were then swimming, diving, and perched all 
about in the hollows of the rocks. 

On our journey from Peto, the particulars of 
which I was obliged to omit, we had entered a re- 
gion where the sources of the supply of water again 
formed a new and distinctive.feature in the face of 
the country, wilder, and, at first sight, perhaps crea- 


286 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ting a stronger feeling of admiration and wonder 
than even the extraordinary cuevas, aguadas, and 
senotes we had formerly encountered. ‘These, too, 
are called senotes, but they differ materially from 
those before presented, being immense circular holes, 
from sixty to two hundred feet in diameter, with 
broken, rocky, perpendicular sides from fifty to one 
hundred feet deep, and having at the bottom a great 
body of water, of an unknown depth, always about 
the same level, supposed to be supplied by subterra- 
nean rivers. We had seen ranchos of Indians es- 
tablished near these senotes, with a railing on one 
side, over which Indian women were drawing up 
water in little bark buckets; probably the two great 
senotes at this place were the inducements to the 
foundation of the ancient city. 

The engraving that follows represents this senote 
among the ruins of Chichen. Though wild enough 
in its appearance, it had less of that extraordinary 
regularity than the others we had seen. ‘Those 
were all circular, and it was impossible to get access 
to the water except by means of arope. ‘This was 
oblong, about three hundred and fifty feet in length 
and one hundred and fifty wide. The sides were 
between sixty and seventy feet high, and perpen- 
dicular, except in one place, which was broken so 
as to form a steep, winding descent to the water. 
The view is taken from the edge of the water. 
The path is evidently, to a certain extent, artificial, 


MISCHIEVUUS BOYS. 287 





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SATO IN gay MG a MEN 


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as we saw in one place the vestiges of a stone wall 
along the brink. On this side Doctor Cabot had 
erected a railing for protection, which the mischiev- 
ous boys of Pisté afterward pulled down ; we tempt- 
ed them with a reward of two reales apiece for the 
discovery of the offenders, but none of them ever 
accepted the offer. These boys, by-the-way, with 
the inhabitants of Pisté generally, both men and 
women, seemed to consider that the opening of this 


288 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. , 


path was for their especial benefit, and at first they 
made it a point to be on the spot at the same hour 
with us. Upon one occasion we were so annoyed 
by the presence of two ladies of that village, who 
seemed determined not to go away, that we were 
obliged to come to an amicable understanding by 
means of a peremptory notice that all persons must 
give us the benefit of their absence at that hour ; 
and every day, when the sun was vertical ‘and 
scarely endurable on the surface of the earth, we 
bathed in this deep senote. 

We returned to the hut well satisfied with our 
first day at Chichen; and there was another circum- 
stance which, though painful in itself, added mate- 
rially to the spirit with which we commenced our 
labours at this place. ‘The danger apprehended 
from the rainy season was coming to pass, and un- 
der the anticipation of a failure of the next crop, 
corn had risen from two reales to a dollar the load. 
The distress occasioned in this country by the fail- 
ure of the corn crop cannot well be imagined. In 
1836 this calamity occurred, and from the same 
cause that threatened to produce it now. Along 
the coast a supply was furnished from the United 
States, but it would not bear the expense of trans- 
portation into the interior, and in this region corn 
rose to four dollars a load, which put the staff of 
life completely beyond the reach of the Indians. 
Famine ensued, and the poor Indians died of star- 
vation. At the time of our arrival, the criados, or 


FAILURE OF THE CORN CROP. 289 


servants, of the hacienda, always improvident, had 
consumed their small stock, and, with no hope from 
their milpas, with the permission of the master were 
about moving away to regions where the pressure 
would be less severe. Our arrival, as the major 
flomo told us, arrested this movement; instead of 
our being obliged to hunt them up, the poor Indians 
crowded round the door of our hut, begging em- 
ployment, and scrambling for the reales which Albino 
distributed among them; but all the relief we could 
afford them was of short duration, and it may not 
be amiss to mention that at the moment of writing 
the calamity apprehended has come to pass; the 
ports of Yucatan are thrown open and begging for 
bread, and that country in which, but a few short 
months since, we were moving so quietly and expe- 
riencing continual acts of kindness, is now groaning 
under famine superadded to the horrors of war 


Vou. I1.—O o 25 


235 PLAN OF THE RUINS. 


~ CHAPTER XVIL HN 


Plan of the Ruin! —An: Edifice called Algyzeeh. —Doorways.— 
Apartments. —Circular Mass of Masonry.- —Mysterious Cham- 
ber.—Sculptured Stone Tablet.—Majestic Pile of Building call- 
ed the Monjas.—Hieroglyphics.—Rich Ornaments.—Doorways, 
Chambers, &c.—Remains of Painting.—The Eglesia, or Church. 
—Ornaments on the Facade.—Cartouches in Plaster.—Circular 
Edifice called the Caracol.—Apartment.—Staircase, having on 
each Side entwined Serpents.—Gigantic Head.—Doorways.— 
Paintings.—Building called Chichanchob.—Ornaments.—Row 
of Hieroglyphics.—Another Building.—Vestiges of Mounds and 
ruined Buildings.—Extraordinary Edifice, to which the Name 
Gymnasium or Tennis-court is given.—Ornamented Columns.— 
Sculptured Figures in Bas-relief.—Massive Stone Rings, with 
entwined Serpents.—Indian Sports.—Two Ranges of Buildings. 
—Procession of Tigers.—Sculptured Columns.—Figures in Bas- 
relief.— Richly-carved Lintel. — Paintings. —The Castillo.— 
Staircase. — Colossal Serpents’ Heads.—Doorways.—Carved 
Lintels.—Jambs ornamented with Sculptured Figures.—Corri- 
dors.—Apartments.—Square Pillars, covered with Sculptured 
Figures.—Rows of Columns.—Occupation and Abandonment of 
Chichen by the Spaniards.—First Discovery of Chichen.—Se- 
notes. 


4 


Tue plate opposite represents the general plan of 
the ruins of Chichen. This plan is made from bear- 
ings taken with the compass, and the distances were 
all measured with a line. ‘The buildings are laid 
down on the plan according to their exterior form. 
All now standing are comprehended, and the whole 
circumference occupied by them is about two miles, 
which is equal to the diameter of two thirds of a 
mile, though ruined buildings appear beyond these 
limits. 


f 





: 3 Cie a 
A he 7. 


Oe J x 
EGE 


“Sanit 

ng with Hicroglyphics. 

tkatzech signifying Writing in the lark. 

Las Moryas” oF the Nunnery. 

weHaciunda of CHICHEN-IT'ZA . 
arch belonging lo the Hacienda. 

touse for StTTANYGEs. 






4 
Scale of EnglishFeet. 


100 50 20 _ 200 390 _ 420 _ _5G0 
GENERAL PLAN 


of the Fruldings at 


CHICHEN-ITZA. 








See ge 
Woods 
2 3 x. hes 



















2 SS 
@ Se 
_ Si 
S\ eZorra? Ka 
& FAY 
Nori \e\ \ 


s orWell aed 


Fj 


__ Surveyed & Draavn bv L. Catherwood March: 1821. 














\ ads. corrtfrtt 









a a 
Indian Huts 


Page 290 Vol.2. 











‘ 
i 
‘ 


i 














CHI CHEN. 


EDIFICE CALLED» AKATZEEB. 291 


By referring to the plan the reader will see the 
position of the hut in which we lived, and, following 
the path from our door through the cattle-yard of — 
the hacienda, at the distance of two hundred and 
fifty yards he will reach the building represented in 
the plate opposite. It does not stand on an artifi- 
cial terrace, but the earth seems to have been exca- 
vated for some distance before it, so as to give it 
elevation of position. It faces the east, and meas- 
ures one hundred and forty-nine feet in front by 
forty-eight feet deep. ‘The whole exterior is rude, 
and without ornament of any kind. A grand stair- 
case, forty-five feet wide, now entirely in ruins, rises 
in the centre to the roof of the building. On each 
side of the staircase are two doorways; at each end 
is a single doorway, and the front facing the west 
has seven. ‘I‘he whole number of apartments is 
eighteen. ‘he west front opens upon a large hol- 
low surface, whether natural or artificial it is not easy 
to say, and in the centre of this is one of those fea- 
tures before referred to, a solid mass of masonry, 
forty-four feet by thirty-four, standing out from the 
wall, high as the roof, and corresponding, in position 
and dimensions, with the ruined staircase on the 
eastern front. ‘This projection is not necessary for 
the support of the building; it is not an ornament, 
but, on the contrary, a deformity; and whether it 
be really a solid mass, or contain interior chambers, 
remains to be ascertained by the future explorer 

At the south end the doorway opens into @ 


292 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


chamber, round which hangs a greater and more 
impenetrable mystery. ‘This chamber is nineteen 
feet wide by eight feet six inches deep, and in the 
back wall a low, narrow doorway communicates 
with another chamber in the rear, of the same di- 
mensions, but having its floor one step higher. ‘The 
lintel of this doorway is of stone, and on the soffite, 
or under part, is sculptured the subject represented 
in the engraving opposite. This tablet, and the 
position in which it exists, have given the name to 
the building, which the Indians call Akatzeeb, sig- 
nifying the writing in the dark; for, as no light en- 
ters except from the single doorway, the chamber 
was so dark that the drawing could with difficulty 
be copied. It was the first time in Yucatan that 
we had found hieroglyphics sculptured on stone, 
which, beyond all question, bore the same type with 
those at Copan and Palenque. ‘The sitting figure 
seems performing some act of incantation, or some 
religious or idolatrous rite, which the “writing in 
the dark” undoubtedly explains, if one could but 
read it. Physical force may raze these buildings to 
the ground, and lay bare all the secrets they con- 
tain, but physical force can never unravel the mys- 
tery that involves this sculptured tablet. 

Leaving this building, and following the path in- 
dicated in the map, at the distance of one hundred 
and fifty yards westward we reach a modern stone 
fence, dividing the cattle-field of the hacienda, on 


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Page 292 Val.2. 





























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Garnbrede. 





F. Catiiésw ocd . 


»-MONJAS, CHICHEN ITZA. 


PILE OF BUILDING CALLED THE MONJAS. 2938 


the other side of which appears through the trees, 
between two other buildings, the end fagade of a 
long, majestic pile, called, like one of the principal 
edifices at Uxmal, the Monjas, or Nuns; it is re- 
markable for its good state of preservation, and the 
richness and beauty of its ornaments, as represented 
in the plate opposite. ‘The view comprehends the 
corner of a building on the right, at a short distance, 
called the Eglesia, or Church. The height of this 
facade is twenty-five feet, and its width thirty-five. 
It has two cornices of tasteful and elaborate design. 
Over the doorway are twenty small cartouches of 
hieroglyphics in four rows, five in a row, barely in- 
dicated in the engraving, and to make room for 
which the lower cornice is carried up. Over these 
stand out in a line six bold projecting curved orna- 
ments, like that presented from the House of the 
Governor at Uxmal, resembling an elephant’s trunk, 
and the upper centre space over the doorway is an 
irregular circular niche, in which portions of a seat- 
ed figure, with a head-dress of feathers, still remain. 
The rest of the ornaments are of that distinctive 
stamp, characteristic of the ancient American cities, 
and unlike the designs of any other people, with 
which the reader must now be familiar. ‘The trop- 
ical plants and shrubs growing on the roof, which, 
when we first saw it, hung over the cornice like a 
fringe-work, added greatly to the picturesque effect 
of this elegant facade. 


294 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The plate opposite represents the front of the 
same building. It is composed of two structures 
entirely different from each other, one of which 
forms a sort of wing to the principal edifice, and 
has at the end the fagade before presented. The 
whole length is two hundred and twenty-eight feet, 
and the depth of the principal structure is one hun- 
dred and twelve feet. ‘The only portion containing 
interior chambers is that which I have called the 
wing. ‘This has two doorways opening into cham- 
bers twenty-six feet long and eight feet deep, behind 
each of which is another of corresponding dimen- 
- sions, now filled up several feet with mortar and 
stones, and appearing to have been originally filled up 
solid to the ceiling, making again casas cerradas, or 
closed houses. ‘The whole number of chambers in 
this wing is nine, and these are all the apartments on 
the ground floor. .The great structure to which the 
wing adjoins is apparently a solid mass of masonry, 
erected only to hold up the two ranges of buildings 
upon it. A grand staircase fifty-six feet wide, the 
largest we saw in the country, rises to the top. On 
one side of the staircase a huge breach, twenty or 
thirty feet deep, has been made by the proprietox, 
for the purpose of getting out building stone, which 
discloses only solid masonry. ‘The grand staircase 
is thirty-two feet high, and has thirty-nine steps 
On the top of the structure stands a range of build- 
ings, with a platform of fourteen feet in front ex- 
tending all round. 


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CASA DR TAS MAN TYR opr n Ee chee 








SECOND AND THIRD RANGE. 295 


From the back of this platform the grand stair- 
case rises again, having the same width, fifteen 
steps to the roof of the second range, which forms 
a platform in front of the third range ; this last is, 
unfortunately, in a ruinous condition, and it is to be 
observed that in this, as in all the other cases, these 
ancient architects never placed an upper building on 
the roof of a lower one, but always back, so as to rest 
on a structure solid from the ground, the roof of the 
lower range being merely a platform in front of the 
upper one. 

The circumference of this building is six hundred 
and thirty-eight feet, and its height, when entire, 
was sixty-five feet. It seems to have been con- 
structed only with reference to the second range of 
apartments, upon which the art and skill of the 
builders have been lavishly expended. It is one 
hundred and four feet long and thirty feet wide, and 
the broad platform around it, though overgrown with 
grass several feet high, formed a noble promenade, 
commanding a magnificent view of the whole sur- 
rounding country. 

On the side of the staircase are five doorways, 
of which the three centre ones are what are usually 
called false doors, appearing to be merely recesses in 
the wall. The compartments between the door- 
ways contained combinations of ornaments of un- 
usual taste and elegance, both in arrangement and 
design. ‘The two extreme doorways open into 
chambers, in each of which are three long recesses 


296 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


in the back wall, extending from the floor to the 
_ ceiling, all of which, from the remains still visible, 
were once ornamented with paintings. At each 
end of the building was another chamber, with 
three niches or recesses, and on the other side, fa- 
cing the south, the three centre doorways, corre- 
sponding with the false doors on the north side, 
opened into an apartment forty-seven feet long and 
nine deep, having nine long niches in the back wall; 
all the walls from the floor to the peak of the arch 
had been covered with painted designs, now wan- 
tonly defaced, but the remains of which present col- 
ours in some places still bright and vivid; and 
among these remains detached portions of human 
figures continually recur, well drawn, the heads 
adorned with plumes of feathers, and the hands 
bearing shields and spears. All attempt at descrip- 
tion would fail, and much more would an attempt 
to describe the strange interest of walking along the 
overgrown platform of this gigantic and desolate 
building. 

Descending again to the ground, at the end of the 
wing stands what is called the Eglesia, or Church, a 
corner of which was comprehended in a previous 
view, and the front of which is represented in the 
plate opposite. It is twenty-six feet long, fourteen 
deep, and thirty-one high, its comparatively great 
height adding very much to the effect of its appear- 
ance. It has three cornices, and the spaces be- 
ween are richly ornamented. The sculpture is 


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Page 2796 . Vol <. 








THE EGLESIA, OR CHURCH. 297 « 


rude but grand. ‘The principal ornament is over the 
doorway, and on each side are two human figures 
in a sitting posture, but, unfortunately, much mutila- 
ted. ‘The portion of the facade above the second 
cornice is merely an ornamented wall, like those be- 
fore mentioned at Zayi and Labna. 

The whole of this building is in a good state of 
preservation. [he interior consists of a single 
apartment, once covered with plaster, and along the 
top of the wall under the arch are seen the traces of 
a line of medallions or cartouches in plaster, which 
once contained hieroglyphics. The Indians have 
no superstitious feelings about these ruins, except in 
regard to this building; and in this they say that on 
Good Friday of every year music is heard sound- 
ing; but this illusion, brought with us from Santa 
Cruz del Quiché, was here destined to be broken 
In this chamber we opened our Daguerreotype ap 
paratus, and on Good Friday were at work all day, 
but heard no music. ‘This chamber, by-the-way, 
was the best we had found for our Daguerreotype 
operations. Having but one door, it was easily 
darkened; we were not obliged to pack up and car- 
ry away; the only danger was of cattle getting in 
and breaking; and there was no difficulty in getting 
an Indian to pass the night in the room and guard 
against this peril. 

South of the end of the Monjas, and twenty-two 
feet distant, is, another building, measuring thirty- 
eight feet by thirteen, having the exterior above the 


Vou. I.—P pe 


298 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


cornice decorated in the usual manner, but whicn 
I do not think it worth while to present. 

Leaving this pile of buildings, and passing on 
northward from the Monjas, at the distance of four 
hundred feet we reach the edifice represented in the 
opposite engraving, conspicuous among the ruins of 
Chichen for its, picturesque appearance, and unlike 
any other we had seen, except one at Mayapan 
much ruined. It is circular in form, and is known 
by the name of the Caracol, or winding staircase, 
on account of its interior arrangements. It stands 
on the .upper of two terraces. ‘The lower one 
measures in front from north to south two hundred 
and twenty-three feet, and in depth from east to 
west one hundred and fifty feet, and is still in good 
preservation. A grand staircase forty-five feet wide, 
and containing twenty steps, rises to the platform of 
this terrace. On each side of this staircase, forming 
a sort of balustrade, were the entwined bodies of 
two gigantic serpents, three feet wide, portions of 
which are still in place; and among the ruins of the 
staircase we saw a gigantic head, which had termi- 
nated at one side the foot of the steps. 

The platform of the second terrace measures 
eighty feet in front and fifty-five in depth, and is 
reached by another. staircase forty-two feet wide, 
and having sixteen steps. In the centre of the 
steps, and against the wall of the terrace, are the re- 
mains of a pedestal six feet high, on which probably 
once stood. an idol.. On the platform, fifteen feet 


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THE CARACOL. 299 


trom the last step, stands the building. It is twen- 
ty-two feet in diameter, and has four small door- 
ways facing the cardinal points. A great portion of 
the upper part and,one of the sides have fallen. 
Above the cornice the roof sloped so as almost to 
form an apex. The height, including the terraces, 
is little short of sixty feet, and, when entire, even 
among the great buildings around, this structure 
must have presented a striking appearance. The 
doorways give entrance to a circular corridor five 
feet wide. ‘T‘he mner wall has also four doorways, 
smaller than the others, and standing at intermedi- 
ate points of the compass, facing northeast, north- 
west, southwest, and southeast. These doors give 
entrance to a second circular corridor, four feet wide; 
and in the centre is a circular mass, apparently of 
solid stone, seven feet six inches in diameter; but in 
one place, at the height of eight feet from the ground, 
was a small square opening choked up with stones, 
which I endeavoured to clear out; but the stones 
falling into the narrow corridor made it dangerous 
to continue. ‘The roof was so tottering that I could 
not discover to what this opening led. It was about 
large enough to admit the figure of a man in a stand- 
ing position, to look out from the top. The walls 
of both corridors were plastered and ornamented 
with paintings, and both were covered with the tri- 
angular arch. The plan of the building was new, 


500 INCIDENTS*OF TRAVEL. 


but, instead of unfolding secrets, it drew closer the 
curtain that already shrouded, with almost i inpene 
trable folds, these mysterious structures. 

At the distance of four hundred and twenty feet 
northwest from the Caracol stands the building rep- 
resented in the following engraving. It is called by 




































































the Indians Chichanchob, meaning in Spanish, Casa 
Colorada, and in English, Red House: The terrace 
is sixty-two feet long and fifty-five wide, and is still 
in good preservation; the staircase is twenty feet 
wide, and as we approached it on our first visit, a 
cow was coming quietly down the steps. 

The building measures forty-three feet front and 
twenty-three feet deep, and is still strong and sub- 
stantial. Above the cornice it was richly orna- 





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Page 30 Vol~.2. 


HIEROGLYPHICS. 301 


mented, but the ornaments are now much decayed. 
It has three doorways, which open into a corridor 
running the whole width of the building; and along 
the top of the back wall was a stone tablet, with a 
row of hieroglyphics extending all along the wall 
Many of them were defaced, and, from their height, 
in an awkward position to copy; but we had a 
scaffold erected, and obtained copies of the whole. 
The plate opposite represents these hieroglyphics, 
so far as they could be made out. When not dis 
tinct, to avoid misleading they are not given at all. 
Under the hieroglyphics, in the plate, is given a plan 
of the building, with its terrace and staircase. It 
has a back corridor, consisting of three chambers, 
all of which retain the marks of painting; and. 
from the convenience of its arrangements, with the 
platform of the terrace for’a promenade, and the 
view of a fine open country in front, but for the 
greater convenience of being near the hacienda we 
should have been tempted to take up our abode in it. 

At the short distance of two hundred feet is the 
building represented in the following engraving. 
The platform of the terrace was sixty-four feet 
square, the building had three rooms, but both ter- 
race and building are ruined, and the view is pre- 
sented only because it was so picturesque that Mr. 
Catherwood could not resist the temptation to 
draw it. 

II 26 


302 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































AVE es AS 
AGA NONSBSSESS 





All these buildings are within three hundred yards 
of the staircase of the Monjas; from any interme- 
diate point all are in full sight; the field is open, 
and intersected by cattle-paths ; the buildings, stair- 
cases, and terraces were overgrown, but Indians 
being at hand in sufficient force, they were easily 
cleared, and the whole was finished with a despatch 
that had never before attended our progress. 

These are the only buildings on the west side of 
the camino real which are still standing; but great 
vestiges exist of mounds with remains of buildings 





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GYMNASIUM »CHICHEN ITZA. 


AN EXTRAORDINARY EDIFICE. 308 


upon them, and colossal stones and fragments of 
sculpture at their feet, which it would be impossible 
to present in detail. 

Passing among these vestiges, we come out upol: 
the camino real, and, crossing it, again enter an open 
field, containing the extraordinary edifice represent- 
ed in the plate opposite, which, on first reaching 
the field of ruins, we rode in on horseback to exam- 
ine. It consists of two immense parallel walls, each. 
two hundred and seventy-four feet long, thirty feet 
thick, and one hundred and twenty feet apart. One 
hundred feet from the northern extremity, facing the 
open space between the walls, stands on an eleva- 
tion a building thirty-five feet long, containing a 
single chamber, with the front fallen, and, rising 
among the rubbish, the remains of two columns, 
elaborately ornamented with sculpture; the whole 
interior wall being exposed to view, covered from 
the floor to the peak of the arch with sculptured fig- 
ures in bas-relief, much worn and faded. The en- 
graving represents the two. walls, with this building 
in the distance. And at the other end, setting back, 
too, one hundred feet, and commanding the space 
between the walls, is another building eighty-one 
feet long, also ruined, but exhibiting the remains of 
two columns richly ornamented with sculptured 
figures in bas-relief. The position in which these 
walls and buildings stand to each other is laid down 
on the general plan. i 

In the centre of the great stone walls, exactly op- 


304 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


posite each other, and at the height of twenty feet 
from the ground, are two massive stone rings, four 
feet in diameter, and one foot one inch thick; the 
diameter of the hole is one foot seven inches. On 
the rim and border were two sculptured entwined 
serpents, one of which is represented in the engra- 
ving below. | 





TW WUC SSS 
These walls, at the first glance, we considered 
identical in their uses and purposes with the parallel 
structures supporting the rings at Uxmal, of which 
I have already expressed the opinion that they were 
intended for the celebration of some public games. 
I have in all cases adopted the names of buildings 
which I found assigned to them on the spot, where 


INDIAN SPORTS. 305 


_any existed, and where there were none I have not 
attempted to give any. At Chichen all the principal 
buildings have names; this is called an Eglesia, or 
Church, of the antiguos, which was begun, but not 
finished, and the great open walls present not a bad 
idea of one of their gigantic churches before the 
roof is put on; but as we have already one Eglesia, 
and there is historical authority which, in my opin- 
ion, shows clearly the object and uses of this extra- 
ordinary structure, [ shall call it, as occasion requires, 
the Gymnasium or ‘Tennis-coutt. 

In the account of the diversions of Montezuma, 
given by Herrera, we have the following : 

“The King took much Delight in seeing Sport 
at Ball, which the Spaniards have since prohibited, 
because of the Mischief that often hapned at it; 
and was by them call’d TV/achti, being like our Ten- 
nis. ‘The Ball was made of the Gum of a Tree that 
grows in hot Countries, which, having Holes made 
in it, distils great white Drops, that soon harden, 
and, being work’d and moulded together, turn as 
black as Pitch.* The Balls made thereof, tho’ hard 
and heavy to the Hand, did bound and fly as well 
as our Foot-balls, there being no need to blow them ; 
nor did they use Chaces, but vy’d to drive the ad- 
verse Party that is to hit the Wall, the others were 
to make good, or strike it over. “They struck it 
with any Part of their Body, as it hapned, or 
they could most conveniently; and sometimes he 


* Undoubtedly caoutchouc, or India-rubber. 


Vou. Il—Qe 


306 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


lost that touched it with any other Part but his 
Hip, which was look’d upon among them as the 
greatest Dexterity ; and to this Effect, that the Ball 
might rebound the better, they fastned a Piece of 
stiff Leather on their Hips. ‘They might strike it 
every time it rebounded, which it would do several 
Times one after another, in so much that it look’d 
as if it had been alive. ‘They play’d in Parties, so 
many ona Side, for a Load of Mantles, or what the 
Gamesters could afford, at so many Scores. They 
also play’d for Gold, and Feather-work, and some- 
times play’d themselves away, as has been said be- 
fore. The Place where they play’d was a ground 
Room, long, narrow, and high, but wider above 
than below, and higher on the Sides than at the 
Ends, and they kept it very well plaster’d and 
smooth, both the Walls and the Floor.: On the 
side Walls they fix'd certain Stones, like those of a 
Mill, with a Hole quite through the Middle, just as 
big as the Ball, and he that could strike it through 
there won the Game; and in Token of its being an 
extraordinary Success, which rarely hapned, he had 
a Right to the Cloaks of all the Lookers-on, by an- 
tient Custom, and Law amongst Gamesters; and it 
was very pleasant to see, that as soon as ever the 
Ball was in the Hole, the Standers-by took to their 
Heels, running away with all their Might to save 
their Cloaks, laughing and rejoicing, others scouring 
after them to secure their Cloaks for the Winner, | 
who was oblig’d to offer some Sacrifice to the Ido] 


CONSECRATION OF THE TENNIS-COURT. 307 


of the Tennis-court, and the Stone through whose 
Hole the Ball had pass’d. Every T’ennis-court was 
a ‘T‘emple, having two Idols, the one of Gaming, 
and the other of the Ball. Onalucky Day, at Mid- 
night, they perform’d certain Ceremonies and En- 
chantments on the two lower Walls and on the 
Midst of the Floor, singing certain Songs, or Bal- 
lads ; after which a Priest of the great [Temple went 
with some of their Religious Men to bless it; he 
uttered some Words, threw the Ball about the Ten- 
nis-court four Times, and then it was consecrated, 
and might be play’d in, but not before. The Own- 
er of the T’ennis-court, who was always a Lord, 
never play’'d without making some Offering and 
performing certain Ceremonies to the Idol of Ga 
ming, which shows how superstitious they were, 
since they had such Regard to their Idols, even in 
their Diversions. Montezuma carry’d the Spaniards 
to this Sport, and was well pleas’d to see them play 
at it, as also at Cards and Dice.” 

With some slight variation in details, the gen- 
eral features are so identical as to leave no doubt 
on my mind that this structure was erected for 
precisely the same object as the 'Tennis-court in 
the city of Mexico described by Herrera. The 
temples are at hand in which sacrifices were of- 
fered, and we discover in this something more 1m- 
portant than the mere determining of the char- 
acter of a building; for in the similarity of diver- 
sions we see a resemblance in manners and insti- 


308 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


tutions, and trace an affinity between the people 
who erected the ruined cities of Yucatan and those 
who inhabited Mexico at the time of the conquest. 
In the account of Herrera, moreover, we see inci- 
dentally the drawing of a funeral pall over the in- 
stitutions of the natives, for we learn that the sport 
which “ Montezuma took much delight in seeing,” 
and which, beyond doubt, was a favourite diversion 
of the people, “ the Spaniards have since prohibited.” 

At the southern extremity of the eastern wall, 
and on the outer side, stands the building represent- 
ed in the engraving opposite, consisting of two 
ranges, one even with the ground, and the other 
about twenty-five feet above it, the latter being ina 
good state of preservation, simple, tasteful in its ar- 
rangement of ornaments, and having conspicuous a 
procession of tigers or lynxes, which appear on a 
small scale in the engraving. [rom its lofty posi- 
tion, with trees growing around it and on the roof, 
the effect is beautifully picturesque ; but it has, be- 
sides, a far higher interest, and on some considera- 
tions may perhaps be regarded as the most impor- 
tant structure that we met with in our whole ex- 
ploration of ruins. — 

The lower building, standing on the ground, is 
‘in a ruinous condition: the front has fallen, and 
shows only the remains of two columns covered 
with sculptured figures; the fall of the front has 
laid bare the entire wall of the chamber, covered 
from one end to the other with elaborately-sculp- 
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FIGURES’ IN’ BAS-RELIEF. 309 


The plate opposite represents a portion of these 
figures. Exposed for ages to a long succession of 
winds and rains, the characters were faded and 
worn; under the glare of a tropical sun the lines 
were confused and indistinct, and the reflection of 
the heat was so intense that it was impossible to 
work before it except for an hour or two in the af- 
ternoon, when the building was in the shade. The 
head-dress of the figures is, as usual, a plume of feath- 
ers, and in the upper row each figure carries a bun- 
dle of spears ora quiver of arrows. All these figures 
were painted, and the reader may imagine what the 
effect must have been when all was’ entire. The 
Indians call this chamber Stohl, and say that it 
represents a dance of the antiguos; and these bas- 
reliefs, too, have a distinct and independent value. 
In the large work of Nebel, entitled “ Voyage Pit- 
toresque et Archéologique dans le Mexique,” lately 
published at Paris, is a drawing of the stone of sac- 
rifice in the Museum of Mexico, and now for the 
first time published. It is nine feet in diameter and 
three feet thick, and contains a procession of figures 
in bas-relief, which, though differing in detail, are o1 
the same general character with those sculptured on 
the wall of this building. The stone was dug up in 
the plaza of Mexico, near the spot on which stood, 
in the time of Montezuma, the great teocalis of that 
city. [he resemblance stands upon a different foot- 
ing from any which may exist in Mitla, or Xocichal- 
co, or other places, the history of which is unknown, 


310 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


and forms another connecting link with the very peo- 
ple who occupied the city of Mexico at the time of 
the conquest. And the proofs go on accumulating. 
In the upper building, the back of which appears 
in the engraving, is presented a casket containing, 
though broken and disfigured, perhaps the greatest 
gem of aboriginal art which on the whole Conti- 
nent of America now survives. 

The steps or other means of access to this build- 
ing are gone, and we reached it by clambering over 
fallen stones. ‘T‘he door opens upon the platform 
of the wall, overlooking the Tennis-court. The 
front corridor was supported by massive pillars, por- 
tions of which still remain, covered with elaborate 
sculptured ornaments. ‘The lintel of the mner door- 
way is a beam of sapote richly carved. ‘The jambs 
are partly buried, and above the rubbish appear 
sculptured figures with rich head-dresses, which 
anywhere else we should have considered it neces- 
sary to bring to light and copy; but between these 
jambs we enter an inner chamber, the walls and 
ceiling of which are covered, from the floor to the 
peak of the arch, with designs in painting, repre- 
senting, in bright and vivid colours, human figures, 
battles, houses, trees, and scenes of domestic life 
and conspicuous on one of the walls is a large ca: 
noe; but the first feeling of gratified surprise was 
followed by heavy disappointment, for the whole 
was mutilated and disfigured. In some places the 
plaster was broken off; in every part deep and ma- 





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PAINTINGS. dll 


lignant scratches appeared in the walls, and while 
individual figures were entire, the connexion of the 
subjects could not be made out. For a long time 
we had been tantalized with fragments of paint- 
ing, giving us the strong impression that in this 
more perishable art these aboriginal builders had 
made higher attainments than in that of sculpture, 
and we now had proofs that our impression did them 
justice. The plate opposite represents detached 
portions of these paintings. ‘I'he colours are green, 
yellow, red, blue, and a reddish brown, the last be- 
ing invariably the colour given to human flesh. 
Wanting the various tints, the engraving, of course, 
gives only an imperfect idea of them, though, even 
in outline, they exhibit a freedom of touch which 
could only be the result of discipline and training 
under masters. But they have a higher interest 
than any that attaches to them as mere specimens 
of art; for among them are seen designs and fig- 
ures which call forcibly to mind the well-known pic- 
ture writings of the Mexicans; and if these analo- 
gies are sustained, this building attached to the walls 
of the Tennis-court stands an unimpeachable wit- 
ness that the people who inhabited Mexico at the 
time of the conquest belonged to the same great 
race which furnished the builders of the ruined cit- 
ies in Yucatan. 

But to continue. At the distance of five hundred 
feet southeast from this rises the Castillo, represent- 


312 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL 


ed in the plate opposite, the first building which we 
saw, and from every point of view the grandest and 
most conspicuous object that towers above the plain. 
Every Sunday the ruins are resorted to as a prom- 
enade by the villagers of Pisté, and nothing can sur- 
pass the picturesque appearance of this lofty build- 
ing while women, dressed in white, with red shawls, 
are moving on the platform, and passing in and out 
at the doors. ‘The mound measures at the base on 
the north and south sides one hundred and ninety- 
six feet ten inches, and on the east and west sides 
two hundred and two feet. It does not face the 
cardinal points exactly, though probably so intend- 
ed; and in all the buildings, from some cause not 
easily accounted for, while one varies ten degrees 
one way, that immediately adjoining varies twelve 
or thirteen degrees in another. It is built up appa- 
rently solid from the plain to the height of seventy- 
five feet. On the west side is a staircase thirty- 
seven feet wide; on the north, being that presented 
in the engraving, the staircase is forty-four feet wide, 
and contains ninety steps. On the ground:at the 
foot of the staircase, forming a bold, striking, and 
well-conceived commencement to this lofty range, 
are two colossal serpents’ heads, ten feet in length, 
with mouths wide open and tongues protruding, as 
represented in the following engraving. No doubt 
they were emblematic of some religious belief, and 
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COLOSSAL SERPENTS HEADS. 313 















































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tween them to ascend the steps, must have excited 
feelings of solemn awe. 


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ol4 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


sixty-one feet from north to south, and sixty-four 
from east to west; and the building measures in 
the same directions forty-three feet and forty-nine. 
Single doorways. face the east, south, and west, 
having massive lintels of sapote wood covered with 
elaborate carvings, and the jambs are ornamented 
with sculptured figures, one of which is represented 
in the engraving opposite. ‘The sculpture is much 
worn, but the head-dress, ornamented with a plume 
of feathers, and portions of the rich attire still remain. 
The face is well preserved, and has a dignified ap- 
pearance. It has, too, earrings, and the nose bored, 
which, according to the historical accounts, was so _ 
prevalent a custom in Yucatan, that long after the 
conquest the Spaniards passed laws for its prohibi 
tion. 

All the other jambs are decorated with sculpture 
of the same general character, and all open into a 
corridor six feet wide, extending round three sides 
of the building. 

The doorway facing the north, represented in the. 
engraving, presents a grander appearance, being 
twenty feet wide, and having two short massive 
columns, eight feet eight inches high, with two large 
projections at the base, entirely covered with elab- 
orate sculpture. ‘This doorway gives access to a 
corridor forty feet long by six feet four inches wide 
and seventeen feet high. In the back wall of this 
corridor is a single doorway, having sculptured 
jambs, over which is a richly-carved sapote beam, 








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SCULPTURED FIGURES.—COLUMNS. 317 


and giving entrance to an apartment represented in 
the engraving opposite, nineteen feet eight inches 
long, twelve feet nine inches wide, and seventeen 
feet high. In this apartment are two square pillars 
nine feet four inches high and one foot ten inches 
on each side, having sculptured figures:on all their 
sides, and supporting massive sapote beams covered 
with the most elaborate carving of curious and intri- 
eate designs, but so defaced and timeworn that, in the 
obscurity of the room, lighted only from the door, it 
was extremely difficult to make them out. The 
impression produced on entering this lofty chamber, 
so entirely different from all we had met with be- 
fore, was perhaps stronger than any we had yet ex- 
perienced. We passed a whole day within it, from 
time to time stepping out upon the platform to look 
down upon the ruined buildings of the ancient city, 
and an immense field stretching on all sides beyond. 

And from this lofty height we saw for the first 
time groups of small columns, which, on examina- 
tion, proved to be among the most remarkable and 
unintelligible remains we had yet met with. They 
stood in rows of three, four, and five abreast, many 
rows continuing in the same direction, when they 
changed and pursued another. ‘They were very 
low, many of them only three feet high, while the 
highest were not more than six feet, and consisted 
of several separate pieces, like millstones. Many 
of them had fallen, and in some places they lie pros- 
trate in rows, all in the same direction, as if thrown 


318 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


down intentionally. I had a large number of In- 
dians at work clearing them, and endeavouring to 
trace their direction to the end. In some places 
they extended to the bases of large mounds, on 
which were ruins of buildings and colossal fragments 
of sculpture, while in others they branched off and 
terminated abruptly. I counted three hundred and 
eighty, and there were many more; but so many 
were broken, and they lay so irregularly, that I gave 
up counting them. ‘I‘hey were entirely too low to 
have supported a roof under which persons could 
walk. The ideq at times suggested itself that they 
had upheld a raised walk of cement, but there were 
no remains visible. ‘T‘he plate opposite will give 
some idea of these columns, with the Castillo and 
part of the Tennis-court appearing inthe background. 
They enclose an area nearly four hundred. feet 
square; and, incomprehensible as they are in their 
uses and object, add largely to the interest and 
wonder connected with these ruins. 

I have now closed my brief description of the 
ruins of Chichen, having presented, with. as little 
detail as possible, all the principal buildings of this 
ancient city. Ruined mounds exist, and detached 
_ portions of sculpture strew the ground, exhibiting 
curious devices, which often arrested us in wander- 
ing among them, but which I shall not attempt to 
give. They were the ruins which we had had 
longest in prospect, of which we had formed the 
largest expectations, and these expectations were 







































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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OCCUPATION OF THE SPANIARDS. 321 


not disappointed, but more than realized. And 
they had additional interest in our eyes from the 
fact that the broad light of day beams upon their 
history. The first settlement of the Spaniards in 
the interior was made at this very spot. 

The reader may remember that in the early part 
of these pages he accompanied Don Francisco 
Montejo to Chichen, or Chichen Itza, as it was 
called, from the name of the people who occupied 
the country. The site of this place is identified 
beyond all peradventure as that now occupied by 
these ruins; and the reader, perhaps, will expect 
from Don Francisco Montejo, or the Spanish sold- 
iers, some detailed account of these extraordinary 
buildings, so different from any to which the Span- 
iards were accustomed. But, strange as it may ap- 
pear, no such account exists. ‘‘he only existing 
notice of their journey from the coast says, that 
from a place called Aké they set out, directing their 
course for Chichen Itza, where they determined to 
stop and settle, as it appeared a proper place, on 
account of the strength of the great buildings that 
were there, for defence against attacks by the In- 
dians. We do not even learn whether these build- 
ings were inhabited or desolate; but Herrera says 
that the Indians in this region were so numerous, 
that in making the distribution which the adelanta- 
do was allowed by the terms of the royal grant, the 
least number which fell to the lot of a Spaniard 
was two thousand. 


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322 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Having regard, however, to the circumstances of 
the occupation and abandonment of Chichen by the 
Spaniards, their silence is perhaps not extraordi- 
nary. Ihave already mentioned that at this place 
the adelantado made a fatal mistake, and, lured by 
the glitter of gold in another province, divided his 
forces, and sent one of his best captains, with fifty 
men, in search of it.. From this time calamities and 
dangers pressed upon him; altercations and con- 
tests began with the Indians; provisions were with- 
held, the Spaniards were obliged to seek them with 
the sword, and all that they ate was procured at the 
price of blood. At length the Indians determined 
upon their utter destruction. Immense multitudes 
surrounded the camp of the Spaniards, hemming 
them in on all sides. The Spaniards, seeing them- 
selves reduced to the necessity of perishing by hun- 
ger, determined to die bravely in the field, and went 
out to give battle. ‘The most sanguinary fight they 
had ever been engaged in then took place. .The 
Spaniards fought for their lives, and the Indians 
to remain masters of their own soil. Masses of the 
latter were killed, but great slaughter was made 
among the Spaniards, and, to save the lives of those 
who remained, the adelantado retreated to the forti- 
fications. One hundred and fifty of the conquerors 
were dead; nearly all the rest were wounded, and 
if the Indians had attacked them in their retreat 
they would have perished to a man. 

Unable to hold out any longer, they took advan- 


ESCAPE OF THE SPANIARDS. 323 


tage of a night when the Indians were off their 
guard, and making sallies in the evening so as to 
keep them awake, that weariness might afterward 
overtake them, as soon as all was still they tied a 
dog to the clapper of a bell-rope, putting some food 
before him, but out. of his reach, and with great 
silence marched out from the camp. The. dog, 
when he saw them going, pulled the cord in order 
to go with them, and afterward to get at the food. 
The Indians, supposing that the Spaniards were 
sounding the alarm, remained quiet, waiting the re- 
sult, but a little before daylight, perceiving that the 
bell did not cease ringing, they drew near the forti- 
fication, and found it deserted. In the mean time 
the Spaniards escaped toward the coast, and in the 
meager and disconnected accounts of their dangers 
and escape, it is, perhaps, not surprising that we have 
none whatever of the buildings, arts, and sciences 
of the fierce inhabitants of Chichen. 

[ shall close with one general remark. These 
cities were, of course, not all built at one time, but 
are the remains of different epochs. Chichen, 
though in a better state of preservation than most 
of the others, has a greater appearance of antiquity ; 
some of the buildings are no doubt older than oth- 
ers, and long intervals may have elapsed between 
the times of their construction. 

The Maya manuscript places the first discovery of 
Chichen within the epochs corresponding with the 
time between A.D. 360 and A.D. 432.. From the 


324 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


words used, it may be understood that the discovery 
was then made of an actual existing city, but it is a 
fair construction of these words to suppose that no- 
thing more is meant than a discovery of what the 
words Chi-chen import, viz., the mouths of wells, 
having reference to the two great senotes, the dis- 
covery of wells being, among all primitive people, 
and particularly in the dry region of Yucatan, an 
event worthy to be noted in their history. 

One of these senotes I have already mentioned , 
the other I did not visit till the afternoon preceding 
our departure from Chichen. Setting out from the 
Castillo, at some distance we ascended a wooded 
elevation, which seemed an artificial causeway lead- 
ing to the senote. ‘The senote was the largest and 
wildest we had seen; in the midst of a thick forest, 
an immense circular hole, with cragged, perpendic- 
ular sides, trees growing out of them and overhang- 
ing the brink, and still as if the genius of silence 
reigned within. A hawk was sailing around it, 
looking down into the water, but without once flap- 
ping its wings. The water was of a greenish hue. 
A mysterious influence seemed to pervade it, in uni- 
son with the historical account that the well of Chi- 
chen was a place of pilgrimage, and that human vic- 
tims were thrown into itin sacrifice. In one place, 
on the very brink, were the remains of a stone struc- 
ture, probably connected with ancient superstitious 
rites; perhaps the place from which the victims 
wer’ ‘Yhrown into the dark well beneath. 


DEPARTURE FROM CHICIIEN. 325 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


Departure from Chichen.—Village of Kaua.—Cuncunul.—Arrivad 
at Valladolid.—An Accident.—Appearance of the City.—Don 
Pedro Baranda’s Cotton Factory.—A Countryman.—Mexican 
Revolution.—The Indians as Soldiers.—Adventures of a Demo- 
nio.—Character of the People.—Gamecocks.—Difficulty of ob- 
taining Information in .regard to the Route.—Departure for the 
Coast.—Party of Indians.—Village of Chemax.—Fate of Molas 
the Pirate.—Discouraging Accounts.—Plans deranged.—The 
Convent.—The Cura,—Population. of the, Village.—Its early 
History.—Ruins of Coba.-—Indian Sepulchre.—Relics.—A Pen- 
knife found in the Sepulchre. 


On ‘Tuesday, the twenty-ninth of March, we left 
Chichen. It was still in the gray of the morning 
when we caught our last view of the great buildings, 
and as we turned away we felt that the few short 
months of our journey had been a time of interest 
and wonder, such as rarely occurs in life. At nine 
o'clock we reached the village of Kaua, six leagues 
distant, and at half past eleven the small village of 
Cuncunul, within an hour’s ride of Valladolid; and 
there we determined to dine, and wait for the ser- 
vants and carriers. 

We remained till four o’clock, and then set out 
for Valladolid. As far as the suburbs the road was 


broken and stony. We entered by the great Church 
IT 28 


326 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


of Sisal, with convent and cloisters by its side, and 
a square in front, which, as we rode across it, sound- 
ed hollow under our horses’ feet, and underneath 
was an immense senote. We passed up the Calle 
de Sisal, along street with straggling houses on each 
side, and were directed to the house of Don Pedro 
Baranda, one of the largest and best in the place. 
This gentleman had received advices of our intend- 
ed visit, and had engaged for us a house. As ow 
luggage did not arrive, he furnished us with ham- 
mocks, and in an hour we were comfortable as in 
our house at Merida. About midnight Albino came 
clattering to the door, accompanied by only one 
horse, carrying our hammocks, and bringing the dis- 
astrous intelligence that the horse carrying the Da- 
guerreotype apparatus had run away, and made a 
general crash. Hitherto the apparatus had always 
been carried by an Indian, but the road from Chi- 
chen was so good that we were not afraid to trust 
iton horseback. ‘I‘here was consolation, however, 
in the thought that we could not lose what we had 
already done with its assistance. 

The next morning we were in no hurry. From 
Valladolid it was our purpose to prosecute our ex- 
ploration through a region of which less was known 
than of any we had yet visited. In our short voy- 
age with Captain Fensley from the Laguna to Sisal, 
he had told us of stone buildings on the coast, near 
Cape Catoche, which he called old Spanish forts. 
These accounts were confirmed by others, and we 


VALLADOLID. oa 


at length ascertained what we supposed to be the 
fact, that in two places on the coast called ‘T'ancar 
and 'Tuloom, what were taken for Spanish forts were 
aboriginal buildings. Our business at Valladolid 
was to make arrangements for reaching them, and 
at the same time for coasting round Cape Catoche, 
and visiting the Island of Cozumel. We had been 
told that at Valladolid we should be able to procure 
all necessary information about the ruins on the 
coast; but we could not even learn the way to 
reach them; and by the advice of Don Pedro Ba- 
randa we determined to remain a few days, until a 
person who was expected, and who was familiar with 
that region, should arrive. 

In the mean time, a few days did not hang heavy 
on our hands in Valladolid. The city, which was 
founded at an early period of the conquest, contains 
about fifteen thousand inhabitants, and is distin- 
euished as the residence of the vicar-general of the 
church of Yucatan. | 

It was built in a style commensurate with the 
lofty pretensions of the conquerors, and, like other 
cities of Spanish America, bears the marks of an- 
cient grandeur, but is now going to decay. ‘The 
roads leading to it and the very streets are over- 
grown with bushes. ‘The parochial church still 
stands, the principal object in the plaza, and the 
churches of San Servacio, San Juan De Dios, San- 
ta Lucia, Santa Ana, La Virgen de la Candelaria, 
and the Church of Sisal, the largest buildings in the 
city, are all more or less dilapidated. 


328 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The same melancholy tokens are visible in the 
private houses. In the principal street stand large 
buildings, roofless, without windows or doors, and 
with grass and bushes growing from crevices in the 
walls; while here and there, as if in mockery of 
human pride, a tottering front has blazoned upon it 
the coat of arms of some proud Castilian, distin- 
euished among the daring soldiers of the conquest, 
whose race is now entirely unknown. 

Among these time-shattered buildings stood one 
in striking contrast, remarkable for its neat, compact, 
and business-like appearance ; and in that country 
it seemed a phenomenon. It was a cotton factory 
belonging to Don Pedro Baranda, the first estab- 
lished in the Mexican Republic, and for that reason, 
as emblematic of the dawn of a great manufacturing 
system, called the “ Aurora de la Industria Yucate- . 
ca;’ and, what gave it a greater interest in our 
eyes, it was under the direction of that young coun- 
tryman and fellow-citizen, Don Juan Burque, or Mr. 
John Burke, to whom I before referred as the first 
stranger’ who. visited, the, ruins of. Chichen.» It - 
seemed strange to meet in this unknown, half-Span- 
ish and half-Indian town a citizen of New-York. 
lt was seven. years the day of our arrival since he 
came to Valladolid. He had almost lost the facili- 
ty of expressing himself in his native tongue, but in 
dress, manner, appearance, and feelings he was un- 
changed, and different from all around him; and it 
was gratifymg to us to know that throughout that 


DON PEDRO BARANDA. 329 


neighbourhood it was no small recommendation to 
be the countryman of “ the engineer.” 

Don Pedro Baranda, the proprietor of the factory, 
began life in the Spanish navy; at fifteen he was a 
midshipman on board the flag-ship of the Spanish 
admiral at the memorable battle of Trafalgar, and, 
though not unwounded, was one of the few who 
escaped the terrible slaughter of that day. At the 
commencement of the war of Mexican independ- 
ence he was still in the Spanish navy, but, a Mexi- 
can by birth, joined the cause of his countrymen, and 
became admiral of the fleet, which he commanded at 
the taking of the Castle of San Juan de Ulloa, the 
closing act of the successful revolution. After this, 
he resigned and went to Campeachy, his native 
place, but, being in delicate health, removed to 
Valladolid, which, in the absence of all other rec- 
ommendations, was celebrated for the salubrity of 
its climate. He had held the highest offices of hon- 
our and trust in the state, and, although his party 
was now down and his political influence lost, he 
had fallen with the respect of all, and, what was a 
rare thing among the political animosities of that 
country, the actual government, his successful oppo- 
nents, gave us letters of introduction to him. 

Retired from office, and unable to endure idleness, 
the spontaneous growth of cotton around Vallado- 
lid induced him to undertake the establishment of a 
cotton factory. He had great difficulties to contend 
with, and these began with the erection of the build- 

VoL. IL—T 1 


330 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ing. He had no architect to consult, and planned 
and constructed it himself. ‘Twice the arches gave 
way, and the whole building came down. The 
machinery was imported from the United States, 
accompanied by four engineers, two of whom died 
in the country: In 1835, when Mr. Burke arrived, 
the factory had yielded but seventy pieces of cotton, 
and eighteen yards had cost eight thousand dollars. 
At this time the office of acting governor of the 
state devolved upon him, but by a political revolu- 
tion he was deposed; and while his workmen were 
celebrating the grito de Dolores, which announced 
the outbreak of the Mexican revolution, they were 
arrested and thrown in prison, and the factory was 
stopped for six months. It was afterward stopped 
twice by a failure of the cotton crop, and once by 
famine; and all the time he had to struggle against 
the introduction of smuggled goods from Belize ; but, — 
in spite of all impediments, it had gone on, and was 
then in successful operation. 

In walking about the yard, Don Pedro led us to the 
wood-pile, and showed us that the logs were all split 
into four pieces. ‘This wood is brought by the In- 
dians in back-loads at a medio per load, and Don Pe- 
dro told us that at first he had requested the Indians 
not to split the logs, as he would rather have them 
entire, but they had been used to doing so, and could 
not alter their habits; yet these same Indians, by 
discipline and instruction, had become adequate to 
all the business of the factory. 


THE INDIANS AS SOLDIERS. 331 


The city of Valladolid had some notoriety, as be- 
ing the place at which the first blow was struck in 
the revolution now in progress against the domin- 
ion of Mexico, and also as being the residence of 
General Iman, under whom that blow was struck. 
The immediate consequence was the expulsion of 
the Mexican garrison; but there was another, more 
remote and of more enduring importance. ‘There, 
for the first time, the Indians were brought out in 
arms. Utterly ignorant of the political relations be- 
tween Mexico and Yucatan, they came in from their 
ranchos and milpas under a promise by General 
Iman that their capitation tax should be remitted. 
After the success of the first outbreak the govern- 
ment endeavoured to avoid the fulfilment of this 
promise, but was compelled to compromise by remit- 
ting the tax upon women, and the Indians still look 
forward to emancipation from the whole. What 
the consequences may be of finding themselves, after 
azes of servitude, once more in the possession of 
arms, and in increasing knowledge of their physical 
strength, is a question of momentous import to the 
people of that country, the solution of which no 
man can foretell. 

And Valladolid had been the theatre of stranger 
scenes in ancient times. According to historical ac- 
counts, it was once haunted by a demonio of the 
worst kind, called a demonio parlero, a loquacious 
or talking devil, who held discourse with all that 
wished at night, speaking like a parrot, answering all 


332 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


questions put to him, touching a guitar, playing the 
castanets, dancing and laughing, but without suffer- 
ing himself to be seen. | 

Afterward he took to throwing stones in garrets, 
and eggs at the women and girls, and, says the pious 
doctor Don Sanchez de Aguilar, “an aunt of mine, 
vexed with him, once said to him, ‘ Go away from this 
house, devil,’ and gave him a blow in the face which 
left the nose redder than cochineal.” He became so 
troublesome that the cura went to one of the houses 
which he frequented to exorcise him, but in the mean 
time El Demonio went to the cura’s house and 
played him a trick, after which he went to the house 
where the cura was waiting, and when the latter went 
away, told the trick he had been playing. After this 
he began slandering people, and got the whole town 
at swords’ points to such an extent that it reached 
the ears of the bishop at Merida, who forbade speak- 
ing to him under pain of heavy spiritual punishments, 
in consequence of which the vecinos abstained from 
any communication with him; at first the demonio 
fell to weeping and complaining, then made more 
noise than ever, and finally took to burning houses. 
The vecinos sought Divine assistance, and the cura, 
after a severe tussle, drove him out of the town. 

Thirty or forty years afterward, “when I,” says 
the doctor Don Sanchez de Aguilar, “was cura of — 
the said city, this demonio returned to infest some 
of my annexed villages, and in particular one vil- 
lage, Yalcoba, coming at midnight, or at one in the 


ADVENTURES OF A DEMONIO. 333 


afternoon, with a great whirlwind, dust, and noise, as 
of a hurricane ; stones swept over the whole pueblo ; 
and though the Indians promptly put out the fires 
of their kitchens, it did not avail them, for from the 
flames with which this demonio is tormented pro- 
ceeded flashes like nightly comets or wandering 
stars, which set fire to two or three houses at once, 
and spread till there were not people enough to put 
out the fire, when I, being sent for to come and 
drive it away, conjured this demon, and, with the 
faith and zeal that God gave me, commanded him 
not to enter that village; upon which the fires and 
the whirlwinds ceased, to the glory and honour of 
the Divine Majesty, which gave such power to the 
priests.” Driven out here, this demonio returned to 
infest the village of Valladolid with new burnings ; 
but by putting crosses in all the hills this evil ceased. 

For generations this demonio has not been heard 
of, but it is known that he can take any shape he 
pleases ; and I fear me much that he has at last en- 
tered the padres, and, taking advantage of that so- 
called amiable weakness which I before hinted at 
in confidence to the reader, is leading them along 
seeming paths of roses, in which they do not yet 
feel the thorns. 

I have none but kind feelings toward the padres, 
but, either as a cause or in consequence of the as- 
cendency of this demonio, the people of Valladolid 
seemed the worst we had met with, being, in general, 
lazy, gambling, and good for nothing. It is a com- 


334 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


mon expression, “ Hay mucho vago en Valladolid,” 
“There are many idlers in Valladolid ;” and we 
saw more gamecocks tied by the leg along the walls 
of the houses than we had seen in any other place 
we visited. Part of our business was to repair our 
wardrobe and procure a pair of shoes, but neither 
of these undertakings could we accomplish. ‘There 
were no shoes ready made, and no artist would 
promise to make a pair in less than a week, which 
we learned might be interpreted as meaning at least 
two. , 

In the mean time we were making inquiries and 
arrangements for our journey to the coast. It is al- 
most impossible to conceive what difficulty we had 
in learning anything definite concerning the road 
we ought to take. Don Pedro Baranda had a 
manuscript map, made by himself, which, however, 
he did not represent as very correct; and the place 
on the coast which we wished to visit was not laid 
down on it at all. There were but two persons in 
the town who could give us any information, and 
what they gave was most unsatisfactory. Our first 
plan was to go to the Bay of Ascension, where we 
were advised we could hire a canoa for our coast 
voyage, but fortunately, by the advice of Don Pedro 
Baranda, we were saved from this calamitous step, 
which would have subjected us to a long and bootless 
journey, and the necessity of returning to Vallado- 
lid' without accomplishing anything, which might 
have disheartened us from attempting to reach the 


DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 835 


coast in another direction. Upon the information 
we received, we determined on going to the village 
of Chemax, from which, we were advised, there 
was a direct road to ‘Tancah, where a boat was on 
the stocks, and probably then finished, which we 
could procure for a voyage down the coast. 

Before our departure Doctor Cabot performed 
an operation for strabismus, under circumstances 
peculiarly gratifying to us, and, with the satisfac- 
tion arising from its complete success, on Satur- 
day, after an early dinner, we mounted for our 
journey to the coast, going first to the house of 
_ Don Pedro Baranda, and to the factory to bid 
farewell to Mr. Burke. ‘The road was broad, and 
had been lately opened for carretas and calesas. 
On the way we met a large straggling party of In- 
dians, returning from a hunting expedition in the 
forests along the seacoast. Naked, armed with 
long guns, and with deer and wild boars slung on 
their backs, their aspect was the most truculent of 
any people we had seen. ‘They were some of the 
Indians who had risen at the call of General Iman, 
and they seemed ready at any moment for battle. 

It was some time after dark when we reached 
the village. The outline of the church was visible 
through the darkness, and beside it was the con- 
vent, with a light streaming from the door. The 
cura was sitting at a table surrounded by the offi- 
cials of the village, who started at the clatter of our 
horses; and when we appeared in the doorway, if 


336 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


a firebrand had been thrown among them they could 
not have been more astounded. ‘The village was 
the Ultima Thule of population, the last between 
Valladolid and Tancah, and the surprise caused by 
our appearance did not subside when we told them 
that we were on our way to the latter. They all 
told us that it was impossible. ‘l‘ancah was a mere 
rancho, seventy miles distant, and the whole inter- 
mediate country was a dense forest. ‘There was 
no road to it, and no communication except by an 
overgrown footpath. Jt was utterly impossible to 
get through without sending Indians before to open 
a road all the way; and, to crown all, we would be 
obliged to sleep in the woods, exposed to mosche- 
toes, garrapatas, and rain, which last, in our uncer- 
tain state, we regarded with real apprehension. 
The rancho was established by one Molas, a 
smuggler and pirate, who, while under sentence of 
death in Merida, escaped from prison, and estab- 
lished himself at this lonely point, out of the reach 
of justice. Soldiers had been sent from Merida to 
arrest him, who, after advancing as far as Chemax, 
turned back. In consequence of new political ex- 
citements, change of government, and lapse of time, 
the persecution, as it is called, against poor Molas 
had ceased; and, having an attack of sickness, he 
ventured up from the coast, and made his appearance 
in the village, to procure such medical aid as it af- 
forded. No one molested him; and after remain- 
ing a while he set out to return on foot with a sin- 


PLANS DERANGED. 337 


gle Indian, but, worn down by the fatigues of the 
journey, while yet eight leagues from the rancho he 
died upon the road. 

These accounts came upon us most unexpected- 
ly, and deranged all our plans. And there was no- 
thing that more strikingly exhibited the ignorance 
prevailing in that country in regard to the roads, 
than the fact that, after diligent and careful inquiries 
at Valladolid, we had set out upon positive informa- 
tion that we could ride directly through to ‘‘ancah, 
and had made all our arrangements for doing so, 
whereas at six leagues’ distance we found ourselves 
brought to a dead stand. 

But turning back formed no part of our delibera- 
tions. ‘The only question was whether we should 
undertake the journey on foot. The mere walking 
none of us regarded; in fact, it would have been a 
pleasant change, for there was no satisfaction in 
stumbling on horseback along those stony roads; 
but our servants foresaw a great accumulation of 
their labours, and the risk of exposure to rain was 
a serious consideration; moreover, I had one little 
difficulty, which, however, was really a serious one, 
and could not be remedied except by a delay of sev- 
eral days, in the want of shoes, those on my feet be- 
ing quite incapable of holding out for such a walk. 
Our alternative was to go to the port of Yalahao, 
which, the reader will see by the map, is almost at 
tight angles from T’ancah, and thence take a canoa. 


This would subject us to the necessity of two voy- 
Voi. IL—U u 29 


338 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ages along the coast, going and returning, and would 
require, perhaps, a fortnight to reach ‘T'ancah, which 
we had expected to arrive at in three days; but 
there were villages and ranchos on the road, and 
the chance of a canoa was so much greater that, 
under the circumstances, we were glad of tee an 
alternative. | 

In the midst of the vexation attending this de- 
rangement of our plan, we were cheered by the com- 
fortable appearance of the convent, and the warm 
reception given us by the cura Garcia. ‘The sala 
was furnished with pictures and engravings from 
Scott’s novels, made for the Spanish market, with 
Spanish lettering; looking-glasses, with gilt frames, 
from El Norte, and a large hand organ, horribly out 
of tune, which, in compliment to us, the cura set to 
grinding out “God save the King!” And, besides 
all this, the smiling faces of women were peeping at 
us through the doors, who at length, unable to re- 
press their curiosity, crowded each other into the 
room. ‘The cura sat with us till a late hour, and 
when we retired followed us to our room, and stood 
by us till we got into our hammocks. His cura- 
cy extended to the coast. ‘T‘he ruins which we pro- 
posed visiting were within it, but he had never vis- 
ited that part, and now talked seriously of going 
with us. 

The next day Dr. Cabot was taken with a fever, 
which the cura said he was almost thankful for, 
and we were glad of an excuse for passing the day 


THE CURA GARCIA. 339 


with him. It was Sunday, and, dressed in his black 
gown, I never saw a priest of more respectable ap- 
pearance. And he was a politician as well as priest, 
He had been a member of the convention that 
formed the constitution of the state, had taken a 
prominent part in the discussions, and distinguished 
himself by his strong and manly eloquence. The 
constitution which he had assisted in forming de- 
barred priests from holding civil offices, but through 
the loophole of his retreat he looked out upon the 
politics of the world. ‘The relations between Mex- 
ico and ‘Texas were at that time most interesting to 
him ; he had received a Merida paper, containing a 
translation in full of President Houston’s inaugural 
address ; and often repeated, “not a dollar in the 
treasury, and ten to fifteen millions of debt.” He 
predicted the downfall of that republic, and said that 
the conquering army in Texas would proclaim San- 
ta Ana emperor, march back upon the capital, and 
place the diadem upon his head! 

Amid the distraction and civil war that devasta- 
ted his own country, he had looked to ours as the 
model of a republic, and gave us many though not 
very accurate details ; and it seemed strange in this 
little interior Indian town to hear an account of 
late proceedings in our own capital, and to find one 
taking so deep an interest in them. 

But the cura had more accurate knowledge in 
regard to matters nearer home. The village of 


340 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Chemax contains nearly ten thousand inhabitants, 
and was in existence at the time of the conquest. 
Four years after the foundation of Merida the In- 
dians in the neighbourhood of Valladolid formed a 
conspiracy to destroy the Spaniards, and the first 
blow was struck at Chemax, where they caught two 
brothers, whom they put upon crosses, and shot at 
from a distance till they were covered with arrows. 
At sunset they took down the bodies, dismembered 
them, and sent the heads and limbs to different pla- 
ces, to show that vengeance was begun. 

The curacy of Chemax comprehended within its 
jurisdiction all between it and the sea. ‘The cura 
had drawn up areport, by order of the government, 
of the condition and character of the region under 
his charge, and its objects of curiosity and inter- 
est, from which I copied the following notice in 
regard to ruins known by the name of Coba. 

“In the eastern part of this village, at eight 
leagues’ distance, and fourteen from the head of the 
district, near one of the three lagunas, is a building 
that the indigenes call Monjas. It consists of va- 
rious ranges of two stories, all covered with arches, 
closed with masonry of rude stone, and each piece 
is of six square yards. Its interior pavement is pre- 
served entire, and on the walls of one, in the sec- 
ond story, are some painted figures in different atti- 
tudes, showing, without doubt, according to the sup- 
position of the natives, that these are the remains 
of that detestable worship so commonly found. 


INDIAN RELICS. 34] 


From this edifice there is a calzada, or paved road, 
of ten or twelve yards in width, running to the 
southeast to a limit that has not been discovered 
with certainty, but some aver that it goes in the di- 
rection of Chichen Itza.” 

The most interesting part of this, in our eyes, 
was the calzada, or paved road, but the information 
from others in the village did not increase our in- 
terest. ‘The cura himself had never visited these 
ruins ; they were all buried in forest; there was no 
rancho or other habitation near; and as our time 
was necessarily to be much prolonged by the change 
we were obliged to make, we concluded that it would 
not be advisable to go and see them. 

But the cura had much more interesting infor- 
mation. On his own hacienda of Kantunile, sixteen 
leagues nearer the coast, were several mounds, in 
one of which, while excavating for stone to be used — 
in building, the Indians had discovered a sepulchre 
containing three skeletons, which, according to the 
cura, were those of a man, a woman, and a child, 
but all, unfortunately, so much decayed that in at- 
tempting to remove them they fell to pieces. 

At the head of the skeletons were two large va- 
ses of terra cotta, with covers of the same material. 
In one of these was a large collection of Indian or- 
naments, beads, stones, and two carved shells, which 
are represented in the following engraving. The 
carving on the shells is in bas-relief, and very perfect ; 
the subject is the same in both, and the reader will 


342 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 





CATHERWNOD.CLL} tossine 


observe that, though differing in detail, it is of the 
same type with the figure on the Ticul vase, and 
hose sculptured on the wall at Chichen. The oth- 
er vase was filled nearly to the top with arrow-heads, 
not of flint, but of obsidian ; and es there are no vol- 
canoes in Yucatan from which obsiaian can ke pro» 


A PENKNIFE. 343 


cured, the discovery of these proves intercourse with 
the volcanic regions of Mexico. But, besides these, 
and more interesting and important than all, on the 
top of these arrow-heads lay a penknife with a horn 
handle. All these the cura had in his possession, 
carefully preserved in a bag, which he emptied on 
a table for our examination; and, as may be suppo- 
sed, interesting as the other memorials were, the 
penknife attracted our particular attention. The 
horn handle was much decayed, and the iron or | 
steel was worn and rusted. This penknife was nev- 
er made in the country. How came it in an In- 
dian sepulchre? I answer, when the fabrics of Eu- 
rope and this country came together, the white man 
-and the red had met. The figures carved on the 
shells, those little perishable memorials, accidentally 
disinterred, identify the crumbling bones in that 
sepulchre with the builders of Chichen, of those mys- 
terious cities that now lie shrouded in the forest; and 
those bones were laid in their grave after a penknife 
had found its way into the country. Speculation 
and ingenuity may assign other causes, but, in my 
opinion, the inference is reasonable, if not irresistible, 
that at the time of the conquest, and afterward, the 
Indians were actually living in and occupying those 
very cities on whose great ruins we now gaze with 
wonder. . A penknife—one of the petty presents dis 

tributed by the Spaniards—reached the hands of a 
cacique, who, far removed from the capital, died in 
his native town, and was buried with the rites and 


344 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ceremonies transmitted by ‘his fathers. A penknife 
is at this day an object of curiosity and admiration 
among the Indians, and, perhaps, in the whole of 
Yucatan there is not one in the hands of a native. 
At the time of the conquest it was doubtless con- 
sidered precious, worthy of being buried with the 
heirlooms of its owner, and of accompanying him to 
the world of spirits. I was extremely anxious to 
procure these memorials. The cura said, with Span- 
ish courtesy, that they were mine; but he evidently 
attached great value to them, and, much as I desired 
it, 1 could not, with any propriety, take them, 


JOURNEY TO YALAHAO. 345 


CHAPTER XIX. 


Departure.—Journey to Yalahao.—Stony Road.—Arrival at the 
Port. — The Sea. — Appearance of the Village. — Bridge. — 
Springs. — Pirates.—Scarcity of Ramon. — The Castillo. — Its 
Garrison.—Don Vicente Albino.—An Incident.—Arrangements 
for a Voyage down the Coast.—Embarcation.—The Canoa El 
Sol.—Objects of the Voyage.—Point Moscheto.—Point Fran- 
ces.—An Indian Fisherman.—Cape Catoche.—The first Land- 
ing-place of the Spaniards. — Island of Contoy. — Sea-birds.— 
Island of Mugeres.—Lafitte.—Harpooning a Turtle.—Different 
Kinds of Turtle.—Island of Kancune.—Point of Nesuc.—Sharks. 
—Moschetoes. — Bay of San Miguel. — Island of Cozumel. — 
Rancho established by the Pirate Molas.—Don Vicente Albino. 
—Mr. George Fisher.—Piratical Aspect of the Island.—A Well. 
—Plantation of Cotton.—Stroll along the Shore. 


‘On Monday, the fourth of April, we took leave 
of the warm-hearted cura, and set out for our new 
point of destination, the port of Yalahao. 

I am obliged to hurry over our journey to the 
coast. ‘The road was lonely and rugged, mostly a 
complete crust of stone, broken and sharp pointed, 
which severely tried and almost wore out our hor- 
ses. It was desperately hot; we had no view ex- 
cept the narrow path before us, and we stumbled 
along, wondering that such a stony surface could 
support such a teeming vegetation. 

In the afternoon of the third day we were ap- 
proaching the port. When within about a league 
of it, we came out upon a low, swampy plain, with 


Vou. IL—X x 


346 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


a grove of cocoanut trees at a long distance before 
ws, the only objects rising above the level surface, in- 
dicating, and, at the same time, hiding, the port of 
Yalahao. The road lay over a causeway, then wet 
and slippery, with numerous holes, and sometimes 
completely overflowed. On each side was a sort 
of creek, and in the plain were. large pools of wa- 
ter. With a satisfaction perhaps greater than we 
had experienced in our whole journey, we reached 
the port, and, after a long absence, came down 
once more upon the shore of the sea. 

The village was a long, straggling street of huts, 
elevated a few feet above the washing of the waves. 
In passing along it, for the first time in the coun- 
try we came to a bridge crossing a brook, with a 
fine stream of running water in sight on the left. 
Our horses seemed as much astonished as ourselves, 
and we had great difficulty in getting them over the 
bridge. On the shore was another spring bubbling 
within reach of the waves. 

We rode on to the house of Don Juan Bautista, 
to whom we had a letter from the cura of Chemax, 
but he had gone to his rancho. His house and one 
other were the only two in the place built of stone, 
and the materials had been obtained from the ruins 
of Zuza, standing on his rancho, two leagues dis- 
tant on the coast. | 

We returned through the village to a house be- 
longing to our friend the cura, better than any ex- 
cept the two stone houses, and in situation finer than 





Pa al 


























~ 


VILLAGE OF YALAHAO. 347 


these. It stood on the very edge of the bank, so 
near the sea that the waves had undermined part of 
the long piazza in front; but the interior was in 
good condition, and a woman tenant in possession. 
We were about negotiating with her for the occu- 
_ pation of a part; but wherever we went we seemed 
to be the terror of the sex, and before we had fairly 
made a beginning, she abandoned the house and left 
us In‘quiet possession. In an hour we were com- 
pletely domesticated, and toward evening we sat in 
the doorway and looked out upon the sea. The 
waves were rolling almost to our door, and Doctor 
Cabot found a new field opened to him in flocks of 
large sea-fowl strutting along the shore and scream- 
ing over our heads. 

The plate opposite represents this place as taken 
from the shore. Our house appears in the left cor- 
ner, and at a distance down the coast is seen an an- 
cient mound. Cut off, to a great extent, from com- 
munication with the interior, or, at least, connected 
with it only by a long and toilsome road, its low huts 
buried among the cocoanut trees, but few people 
moving about it, canoas in the offing, and a cannon 
half buried on the shore, it seemed, what it was no- 
torious for having been, the haunt of pirates in days 
gone by. ti 

In our journey to the coast we had entered a re- 
gion of novel and exciting interest. On the road 
we had heard of quondam pirates, having small su- 
gar ranchos, and enjoying reputations but little the 


348 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


worse for wear, in fact, much respected, and looked 
upon with a. sort of compassion, as men who had 
been unfortunate and broken up in business. We 
had now reached the focus of their operations. 

It is not many years since the coast of Cuba and 
the adjacent continent were infested by bands of 
desperadoes, the common enemies of mankind, and 
doomed to be hung and shot without trial, wherever 
caught. ‘Tales of piracies and murders which make 
the blood run cold are fresh in the remembrance of 
many. ‘The sailor still repeats or listens to them 
with shuddering interest, and in those times of rap- 
ine and blood, this port was notorious as a ren- 
dezvous for these robbers of the sea. 

It commanded a view of many leagues, and of all 
vessels passing between Cuba and the Spanish Main. 
A long, low flat extended many miles out; if the 
vessel was armed, and of superior force, the pirates 
pulled back into shoal water, and if pursued by boats, 
scattered and saved themselves in the interior. ‘The 
plunder brought ashore was spent in gaming and 
revelry. Doubloons, as one of the inhabitants told 
us, were then as plentiful as medios are now. The 
prodigality of the pirates brought many people to 
the place, who, profiting by their ill-gotten gains, 
became identified with them, and pirate law pre- 
vailed. | 

Immediately on our arrival we had visiters, some 
of whom were silent and uncommunicative upon the 
historical associations of the place; and when they 


PIRATES. 349 


went away their good-natured neighbours spoke of 
them as los pobres, who had good reason to be si- 
lent. All spoke with kindness and good feeling of 
the leaders, and particularly of one Don Juan, the 
captain, a dashing, generous fellow, whose death was 
a great public loss. Individuals were named, then 
living in the place, and the principal men, who had 
been notoriously pirates ; one had been several years 
in prison and under sentence of death, and a canoa 
was pointed- out, lying in front of our door, which 
had been often used in pirate service. 

Our house had been the headquarters of the buc 
aniers. It was the house of Molas, to whose un- 
happy end | have before referred. He had been 
sent by the government as commandant to put down 
these pirates, but, as it was said, entered into collu- 
sion with them, received their plunder, and con- 
veyed it to the interior. At night they had revelled 
together in this house. It was so far from the cap- 
ital that tidings of his misdoings were slow of trans- 
mission thither, and, when they were received, he 
persuaded the government that these reports pro- 
ceeded from the malice of his enemies. At length, 
for his own security, he found it necessary to proceed 
against the pirates; he knew all their haunts, came 
upon them by stealth, and killed or drove away the 
whole band. Don Juan, the captain, was brought in 
wounded, and placed at night in a room partitioned 
off at the end of our sala. Molas feared that, if 

I 30 


350 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


carried up to Merida, Don Juan would betray him, 
and in the morning the latter was found dead. It 
was more than whispered that he died by the hand 
of Molas. Itis proper to add, what we heard after- 
ward, that these stories were false, and that Molas 
was the victim of a malicious and iniquitous perse 
cution. I should add, too, that the character of this 
place has improved. Broken up as a pirates’ haunt | 
it became the abode of smugglers, whose business 
being now comparatively unprofitable, they combine 
with it the embarking of sugar and other products 
of ranchos along the coast. 

We found one great deficiency at this place: there 
was no ramon for the horses. At night we turned 
them loose in the village ; but the barren plain fur- 
nished them no grazing, and they returned to the 
house. Early in the morning we despatched Dimas 
to a ramon tree two leagues distant, that being the 
nearest point at which any could be procured ; and 
in the mean time I set about searching for a canoa, 
and succeeded in engaging one, but not of the best 
class, and the patron and sailors could not be ready 
in less than two or three days. 

This over, we had nothing farther to do in Yala- 
hao. I rambled for a little while in the Castillo, a 
low fortress, with twelve embrazures, built for the 
suppression of piracy, but the garrison of which, 
from all accounts, connected themselves somewhat 
closely with the. pirates. It was now garrisoned by 
a little Meztizo tailor, who had run away from Sis- 


DON VICENTE ALBINO. oo 


al with his wife to avoid being taken for a soldier. 
The meekest possible tenants of a fort, they paid no 
rent, and seemed perfectly happy. 

The next morning, when we opened our door, 
we saw a sloop lying at anchor, which we soon un- 
derstood was the balandra of Don Vicente Albino. 
Don Vicente was already on shore, and, before we 
had time to make many inquiries, he called upon us. 
We had heard of him before, but never expected to 
see him in person, for our accounts were that he 
had established a rancho on the island of Cozumel, 
and had been murdered by his Indians. The first 
part of the story was true, but Don Vicente himself 
assured us that the last was not, though he told us 
that he had had a narrow escape, and showed us a 
machete cut in the arm as a token. 

Don Vicente was the person of all others whom 
we wished-to see, as he was the only: one who 
could give us any information about the island of 
Cozumel. While he was with us another vessel 
came in sight, standing in toward the shore; which, 
when still two leagues distant, lowered a boat, and 
then stood off again.. Don Vicente recognised her as 
a Yucatecan brig of war. ‘The commandant came 
ashore ; we had already invited Don Vicente to 
dine with us, and feeling it incumbent upon us to en- 
tertain visiters of distinction, I invited the command- 
ant to join us.. This was a rather bold attempt, as 
we had but one spare plate, knife, and fork, but we 


a2 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


had all been in worse straits, and were accommoda- 
ting. 

Amid the excitement in the port caused by the 
arrival of these strangers, the inhabitants were not 
suffered to forget us. A large sea-bird, prepared by 
Doctor Cabot with arsenic, and exposed to the sun 
to dry, had been carried off and eaten, by a hog, and 
the report got abroad that a hog sold that day had 
died from eating the bird. ‘This created somewhat 
of a panic, and at night all who had partaken of © 
the suspicious meat were known throughout the 
port. A scientific exposition, that even if the hog 
had died from eating the bird, it did not follow that 
those would die who had eaten of the hog, was by 
no means satisfactory. 

The next day we completed laying in our stock 
of provisions, to wit, chocolate, sweetened bread, 
beef and pork in strings, two turtles, three bushels 
of corn, and implements for making tortillas. We 
had one other important arrangement to make, 
which was the disposition of our horses; and, ac- 
cording to our previous plan, to avoid the long jour- 
ney back through the interior we determined to 
send Dimas with them to Valladolid, and thence to 
the port of Silan, a journey of two hundred and fifty 
miles, while we should, on our return, continue down 
the coast with the canoa, and meet him there. 

At nine o'clock we were taken off, one at a time, 
in a small dug-out, and put on board our canoa. 
We had no leave-takings. The only persons who 


VOYAGE DOWN THE COAST. a0 


ook any interest in our movements were Dimas, 
who wanted to go with us, the woman whom we 
had dispossessed of the house, and the agent of the 
canoa, who had no desire to see us again. 

Our canoa was known in the port of Yalahao 
by the name of El Sol, or the Sun. It was thirty- 
five feet long and six feet wide at the top, but 
curving toward the bottom. It carried two large 
sails, with the peaks held up by heavy poles se- 
cured at the masts; had a space of eight or ten 
feet clear in the stern, and all the rest was filled 
with luggage, provisions, and water-casks. We had 
not been on board till the moment of embarcation, 
and prospects seemed rather unpromising for a 
month’s cruise. ‘here was no wind; the sails 
were flapping against the mast; the sun beat down 
upon us, and we had no mat or awning of any 
kind, although the agent had promised one. Our 
captain was a middle-aged Mestizo, a fisherman, 
hired for the occasion. 

Under these circumstances we set out on our 
voyage. It was one which we had determined 
upon before leaving home, and to which we had al- 
ways looked forward with interest ; and the precise 
object we had in view was, in following the track 
of the Spaniards along this coast, to discover ves- 
tiges or remains of the great buildings of lime and 
stone which, according to the historical accounts, 
surprised and astonished them. 


Vou. IL-—Y y 


354 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


At eleven o'clock the breeze set in. At twelve 
the patron asked if he should run ashore for us to 
dine, and at half past one the breeze was so strong 
against us that we were obliged to come to anchor 
under the lee of Point Moscheto. ‘This was an isl- 
and about two leagues distant from Yalahao, with 
a projecting point, which we had to double. We 
could have walked round it in an hour, but, after 
the experience of a few hours’ navigation in El Sol, 
it seemed to stand out like Cape Horn. Our bark 
had no keel, and could do nothing against the wind. 
We went ashore on a barren, sandy beach, bathed, 
shot, and picked up shells. ‘Toward evening the 
wind fell, and we crawled round the point, when we 
came to anchor again, for it. was now dark, and El 
Sol could not travel at night. The patron made all 
secure ; we had a big stone for anchor, and rode in 
water knee deep. In due time we turned in for 
sleep ; and it might have been consoling to distant 
friends to know that, exposed as we were on this 
desolate coast, we made so tight a fit in the canoa 
that if the bottom had fallen out we could hardly 
have gone through. | 

The next morning, with the rising of her great 
namesake, El Sol was under way. ‘The prevalent 
wind along the coast was southeast, adverse for us; 
but, as the captain said, on our return it would be in 
our favour. At one o'clock another bold point in- 
tercepted us. It was a great object to get round it, 
for the wind would then be fair. El Sol made a 


AN INDIAN FISHERMAN. 3500 


vigorous effort, but by this time the breeze had be- 
come strong, and we were fain to come to anchor 
under the lee of Point Frances, which was on the 
same island with Point Moscheto. The island it- 
self has no name, and is a mere sand-bank covered 
with scrub. bushes, having a passage between it 
and the mainland, navigable for smali canoas. Our 
anchorage ground was in front of the rancho of a 
fisherman, the only habitation on the island, built 
like an Indian’s wigwam, thatched with palm leaves 
close down to the ground, and having both ends 
open, giving free passage to a current of air, so that 
while without, a step from the door, the heat was ' 
burning, within there were coolness and comfort. 
The fisherman was swinging in his hammock, and a 
handsome Indian boy was making tortillas, the two 
presenting a fine picture of youth and vigorous old 
age.. ‘The former, as he told us, was sixty-five © 
years old, tall and erect, with his face burned black, 
deep seams on his forehead, but without a single 
gray hair or other symptom of decay. He had 
been three months living on this desolate island, 
and called it amusing himself. Our skipper said 
he was the best fisherman from Yalahao, that he 
always went alone, and always made more than 
the rest, but in a week on shore his money was 
all gone. He had no milpa, and said that, with his 
canoa, and the sea, and the whole coast as a build- 
ing spot for a rancho, he was independent of all 
the world. The fishing on this coast was for tur- 


356 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


tle; on one side of the hut were jars of turtle oil, 
and outside, rather too near when the wind was 
in certain quarters, were the skeletons of turtles 
from which he had extracted it. 

Toward evening the breeze again died away, we 
slowly got round the point, and at half past eight 
came to anchor, having made six leagues on our 
voyage. Our captain told us that this desolate point 
was Cape Catoche, the memorable spot on the Con- 
tinent of America at which the Spaniards first land- 
ed, and approaching which, says Bernal Dias, we 
saw at the distance of two leagues a large town, 
which, from its size, it exceeding any town in Cuba, 
we named Grand Cairo. The Spaniards set out 
for it, and passing by some thick woods, were attack- 
ed by Indians in ambuscade. Near the place of this 
ambuscade, he adds, were three buildings of lime 
and stone, wherein were idols of clay, with diaboli- 
cal countenances, &c. 

Navigators and geographers, however, have as- 
signed different localities to this memorable point, 
and its true position is, perhaps, uncertain. 

At daylight we were again under way, and soon 
were opposite Boca Nueva, being the entrance to a 
passage between the island and the main, better 
known to the fishermen as the Boca de Iglesia, 
from the ruins of a church visible at a great distance. 
This church was one of the objects I intended to 
visit ; and one reason for preferring the canoa, when 
we had the chance of Don Vicente’s sloop, was that 


ISLAND OF CONTOY. 357 


we might do so; but our captain told us that even 
with our draught of water we could not approach 
nearer than a league; that a long muddy flat inter- 
vened ; and that we could not reach the shore by 
wading. He said, too, what we had heard from oth- 
ers, and believed to be the case, that the church was 
certainly Spanish, and stood among the ruins of a 
Spanish town destroyed by the bucaniers, or, in his 
own words, by the English pirates. The wind was 
ahead, but we could make a good stretch from the 
coast, and, anxious to lose no advantage, we made 
sail for the island of Contoy. It was dark when we 
came to anchor, and we were already distressed for 
water. Our casks were impregnated with the fla- 
vour of agua ardiente, and the water was sickening. 
Through the darkness we saw the outline of a des- 
olate rancho. Our men weat ashore, and, moving 
round it with torches, made a fine piratical appear- 
ance ; but they found no water. 

Before daylight we were roused by the screaming 
of sea-birds ; in the gray of the morning, the island 
seemed covered with a moving canopy, and the air 
was noisy with their clamour ; but, unfortunately for 
Doctor Cabot, we had a fine breeze, and he had no 
opportunity of getting at their nests. The coast 
was wild and rugged, indented occasionally by small 
picturesque bays. Below the point of the island 
Doctor Cabot shot two pelicans, and getting the 
canoa about to take them on board was like ma- 
noeuvring a seventy-four gun-ship. 


358 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


At eleven o’clock we reached the island of Mu- 
geres, notorious in that region as the resort of La- 
fitte the pirate. Monsieur Lafitta, as our skipper 
called him, bore a good character in these parts; he 
was always good to: the fishermen, and paid them 
well for all he took from them. Ata short distance 
beyond the point we passed a small bay, in which 
he moored his little navy. The mouth was nar- 
row, and protected by ledges of broken rocks, on 
which, as the patron told us, he had batteries con- 
stantly manned. On the farther point of the island 
we had a distant view of one of those stone build- 
ings which were our inducement to this voyage 
along the coast. While looking at it from the prow 
of the canoa, with the patron by my side, he broke . 
from me, seized a harpoon, and pointing with it to 
indicate the direction to the helmsman, we came si- 
lently upon a large turtle, apparently asleep, which 
‘must have been somewhat surprised on waking up 
with three or four inches of cold steel in his back. 
The patron and sailors looked upon him as upon 
a bag of dollars snatched from the deep. There 
are three kinds of turtles which inhabit these seas ; 
the Cahuamo, the eggs of which serve for food, and 
which is useful besides only for its oil; the Tortu- 
ga, of which the meat as well as the eggs is eaten, 
which also produces oil, and of which the shell is 
worth two reales the pound; andthe Karé, of which 
the shell is worth ten dollars a pound. It was one 
of this kind, being the rarest, that had crossed our 


TURTLE. 359 


path. I would not make any man unhappy, but the 
fishermen say that the turtle which forms the de- 
light of the gourmand is of the commonest kind, not 
worth killing for the sake of the shell, and therefore 
sent away alive. The karé he has never tasted. 
It is killed for the sake of the shell, and eaten by the 
luxurious fishermen on the spot. I immediately ne- - 
gotiated with the patron for the purchase of the shell. 
The outer scales of the back, eight in number, are all 
that is valuable. Their weight he estimated at four 
pounds, and the price in Campeachy he said was 
ten dollars a pound, but he was an honest fellow, . 
and let me have it at two pounds and a half, for 
eight dollars a pound; and I had the satisfaction of 
learning afterward that I had not paid more than 
twice as much as it was worth. 

In the afternoon we steered for the mainland, 
passing the island of Kancune, a barren strip of 
land, with sand hills and stone buildings visible upon 
it. The whole of this coast is lined with reefs of 
rocks, having narrow passages which enable a canoa 
to enter and find shelter; but it is dangerous to at- 
tempt the passage at night. We had a good wind, 
but as the next harbour was at some distance, the 
patron came to anchor at about four o’clock under 
the lee of the point of Nesuc. Immediately we 
went ashore in search of water, but found only a 
dirty pool, in which the water was so salt that we 
could scarcely drink it, but still it was an agreeable 
change from that we had on board. 


360 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


We had time for a bath, and while preparing to 
take it saw two large sharks moving along the shore 
in water four or five feet deep, and so clear that their 
ugly eyes were visible. We hesitated, but, from the 
heat and confinement of the canoa, we were in real 
need; and stationing Albino on the prow to keepa 
_ look out, we accomplished our purpose. Afterward 
we rambled along the shore to pick up shells; but 
toward dark we were all hurrying back, flying be- 
fore the natives, swarms of moschetoes, which pur- 
sued us with the same bloodthirsty spirit that ani- 
mated the Indians along this coast when they pursu- 
ed the Spaniards. _We heaved upon our cable, 
hauled up our big stone, and dropped off to some 
distance from the shore, with horrible apprehensions 
for the night, but, fortunately, we escaped. 

At daylight the next morning we were again un- 
der way, and, with a strong and favourable wind, 
steered from the coast for the island of Cozumel. 
Very soon, in the comparatively open sea, we felt 
the discomfort and even insecurity of our little ves- 
sel. The waves broke over us, wetting our luggage 
and ourselves, and interfering materially with Ber- 
naldo’s cooking. At about four o’clock in the af- 
ternoon we were upon the coast of Cozumel, and 
here for the first time we made a discovery, at the 
moment sufficiently annoying, viz., that our patron 
was not familiar with the coast of this island; it 
was bound with reefs; there were only certain 


BAY OF SAN MIGUEL. 361] 


places where it was practicable to run in, and he 
was afraid to make. the attempt. 

Our plan was to disembark at the rancho of Don 
Vicente Albino, and the patron did not know 
where it was. It was too late to look for it, and, 
sailing along till he saw a passage among the reefs, 
he laid the old canoa into it, and then threw out the 
big stone, but at some distance from the shore. On 
the outer reef was the wreck of a brig; her naked 
ribs were above the water, and the fate of her mar- 
iners no one knew. 

The next morning, after some hours spent in 
groping about, we discovered the rancho of Don 
Vicente, distant about three miles. Here we en- 
countered a strong current of perhaps four miles an 
hour; and, taking the wind close hauled, in a little 
while found that El Sol was not likely to have a 
very brilliant career that day. At length we went 
close in, furled sails, and betook ourselves to poles, 
by means of which, after two hours’ hard work, we 
reached the little Bay of San Miguel, on which stood 
the rancho of Don Vicente. ‘The clearing around 
it was the only one on the island, all the rest being 
thick woods. This bay had a sandy beach ex- 
tending some distance to a rocky point, but even 
here the water was discoloured by sunken reefs. 
In the case of a norther it was an unsafe anchor- 
age ground; El Sol would be driven upon the rocks, 
and the captain wished to leave us on shore, and go 
in search of a better harbour; but to this we object- 

Vou. Il.—Z z 31 


362 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ed, and for the present directed him to run her up 
close; when, standing upon the bow, and leaping 
with our setting poles, we landed upon the desolate 
island of Cozumel. 

Above the line of the shore was a fine table of 
land, on which were several huts, built of poles, and 
thatched with palm leaves. One was large and 
commodious, divided into apartments, and contained 
rude benches and tables, as if prepared for our im- 
mediate occupation. Back of the house was an en- 
closure for a garden, overgrown, but with any quantity 
of tomatoes, ripe, wasting, and begging to be put into 
a turtle soup then in preparation on board the canoa. 

This rancho was established by the pirate Molas, 
who, escaping from death in Merida, made his way 
hither. He succeeded in getting to him his wife 
and children and a few Indians, and for several 
years nothing was heard of him. In the mean 
time he laid the keel of a sloop, finished it with his 
own hands, carried it to Belize, and sold it; new 
subjects of excitement grew up, and, being in a meas- 
ure forgotten, he again ventured to the mainland, 
and left the island to its solitude. 

After him Don Vicente Albino undertook to es- 
tablish upon it a rancho for the cultivation of cotton, 
which was broken up by the mutiny of his Indians 
and an attempt to murder him. When we met him 
at Yalahao he had just returned from his last visit, 
carrying away his property, and leaving five dogs 
tenants of the island. After him came a stranger 





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oo) 


4 
ISLAND OF COZUMEL. 363 


occupant than either, being no other than our old 
friend Mr. George Fisher, that “citizen of the 
world” introduced to the reader in the early part 
of these pages, who, since our separation in Mer- 
ida, had consummated the history of his wander- 
ing life by becoming the purchaser of six leagues, 
or eighteen miles, of the island, had visited it him- 
self with surveyors, set up his crosses along the 
shore, and was about undertaking a grand enter- 
prise, that was to make the lonely island of Cozu- 
mel known to the commercial world. 

Our act of taking possession was unusually ex- 
citing. It was an immense relief to escape from the 
confinement of the canoa. The situation command- 
ed a view of the sea, and, barely distinguishable, in 
the distance was the coast of Yucatan. On the bank 
were large forest trees which had been spared in the 
clearing, and orange and cocoanut trees planted by 
Molas. The place had a sort of piratical aspect. 
In the hut were doors and green blinds from the 
cabin of some unlucky vessel, and reeving blocks, 
tar buckets, halliards, drinking gourds, fragments of 
rope, fishing nets, and two old hatches were scat- 
tered on the ground. Above all, the first object we 
discovered, which would have given a charm to a bar- 
ren sand bank, was a well of pure and abundant wa- 
ter, which we fell upon at the moment of landing, 
and were almost like the Spanish soldier in the expe- 
dition of Cordova, who drank till he swelled and 
died. And, besides the relief of a pressing want, 


364 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


this well had a higher interest, for it assured us that 
our visit was not bootless. We saw in it, at the 
first glance, the work of the same builders with 
whose labours on the mainland we were now so fa- 
miliar, being, like the subterranean chambers at Ux- 
mal, dome shaped, but larger both at the mouth and 
in the interior. 

This well was shaded by a large cocoanut tree. 
We hauled up under it one of the hatches, and, sit- 
ting around it on blocks, had served up the turtle 
which had been accomplishing its destiny on board 
the canoa. With our guns resting against the trees, 
long beards, and canoa costume, we were, perhaps, 
as piratical-seeming a trio as ever scuttled a ship at 
sea. In the afternoon we walked over the clear- 
ing, which was covered with a fine plantation of 
cotton, worth, as the patron said, several hundred 
dollars, with the pods open and blowing away, indi- 
cating that the rancho had been abandoned in haste, 
without regard to the preservation of property. 'To- 
ward evening we strolled for a great distance along 
the shore, picking up shells, and at night we had a 
luxurious swing in our hammocks. 


A CRIPPLED DOG. 365 


CHAPTER XX. 


A crippled Dog.—Island of Cozumel known to the Natives by the 
Name of Cuzamil.—Discovered by Juan De Grijalva.— Extracts 
from the Itinerary of his Voyage.—Towers seenby the Span- 
iards.—An ancient Indian Village.—Temples.—Idols prostrated 
by the Spaniards.—Present State of the Island.—Overgrown 
with T'rees.—Terrace and Building.—Another Building.—These 
Buildings probably the Towers seen by the Spaniards.—Identi- 
cal with those on the Mainland.—Ruins of a Spanish Church.— 
Its History unknown.—Vanity of Human Expectations.—Opin- 
ion of the old Spanish Writers.—Their Belief that the Cross was 
found among the Indians as a Symbol of Christian Worship. 
—The “ Cozumel Cross” at Merida.-—Platform in Front of the 
Church.—Square Pillars.—Once supported Crosses.—The Coz- 
umel Cross one of them.—The Cross never recognised by the 
Indians as a Symbol of Worship.—Rare Birds.—A Sudden 
Storm.—The Canoa in a Strait.—f earful Apprehensions. 


Te next morning, while breakfasting on the old 
hatch, we saw a dog peering at us from a distance, 
as if wishing, but fearful to approach. The poor 
beast was crippled, limped badly, and had his fore 
shoulder horribly mangled, the patron said by an en- 
counter with a wild boar. We endeavoured to en- 
tice him to us, but, after looking at us a few mo- 
ments, he went away, and never came near us 
again. No doubt he was one of the five left by Don 
Vicente Albino, and, abandoned once, he had lost 
all confidence in man. In a few years, if these are 
not eaten up by stronger beasts, a race of wild dogs 
may inhabit this deserted island. 

The island of Cozumel, as it is now called, was 


366 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


known to the natives by the name of Cuzamil, sig- 
nifying in their language the Island of Swallows. 
Before setting out from home I had fixed upon this 
island as one of the points of our journey. My at- 
tention was directed to it by the historical accounts 
of its condition when it first became known to the 
Spaniards. It was discovered accidentally in 1518 
by Juan de Grijalva, who, in attempting to follow 
in the track of Cordova, was driven in sight of it. 
The itinerary of this voyage was kept by the chap- 
lain-in-chief of the fleet, under the direction of Gri- 
jalva, and, with a collection of original narratives 
and memoirs, was published for the first time in 
1838 at Paris. The itinerary opens thus: 
“Saturday, the first of March of the year 1518, 
the commandant of the said fleet sailed from the 
island of Cuba. On the fourth of March we saw 
upon a promontory a white house. * * * * * All 
the coast was lined with reefs and shoals.. We di- 
rected ourselves upon the opposite shore, when we 
distinguished the house more easily. It was in the 
form of a small tower, and appeared to be eight 
palms in length and the height of a man. The 
fleet came to anchor about six miles from the coast. 
Two little barks called canoes approached us, each 
rnanned by three Indians, which came to within a 
cannon shot of the vessel. We could not speak to 
them nor learn anything from them, except that in 
the morning the cacique, 2. ¢., the chief of that 
place, would come on board our vessel. The next 


DISCOVERY OF COZUMEL. 367 


morning we set sail to reconnoiter a cape which we 
saw at a distance, and which the pilot told us was 
the island of Yucatan. Between it and the point 
of Cucuniel, where we were, we found a gulf, into 
which we entered, and came near the shore of Cuz- 
amil, which we coasted. Besides the tower which 
we had seen, we discovered fourteen others of the 
same form. Before leaving the first, the two canoes 
of Indians returned ; the chief of the village was in 
one of them, and came on board the vessel of the 
admiral, and spoke to us by means of an interpreter 
(one of the two Indians carried off from Yucatan 
on the previous voyage of Cordova), and prayed the 
commander to come to his village, saying that it 
would be a great honour to him. * * * * 

“ We set sail, following the coast at the distance 
of a stone’s throw, for the sea is very deep upon: 
the borders. The country appeared very agree- 
able ; we counted, on leaving this point, fourteen 
towers of the form indicated.. At sunset we saw a 
large white tower, which appeared very high. We 
approached, and saw near it a multitude of Indians, 
men and women, who were looking at us, and re- 
mained until the fleet stopped within musket shot 
of the tower. The Indians, who are very numer- 
ous in this island, made a great noise with their 
drums. | 
“On Friday, the sixth of May, the commandant 
ordered one hundred men to arm themselves. ‘They 
embarked in the boats, and landed. They were ac- 


368 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


companied by a priest, and expected’ to be attacked 
by a great number of Indians. Being prepared for 
defence, they arranged themselves in good order, 
and came to the tower, where they found no one; 
and in all the environs they did not see a single 
man. ‘The commandant mounted upon the tower 
with the standard bearer, the flag unfurled. He 
planted this standard upon one of the fagades of the 
tower, took possession in the name of the king, in 
presence of witnesses, and drew up a declaration of 
said taking possession. 

“The ascent to this tower was by eighteen steps; 
the base was very massive, one hundred and eighty 
feet in circumference. At the top rose a small tow- 
er of the height of two men placed one upon the oth- 
er. Within were figures, bones, and idols that they 
adored. From these marks we supposed that they 
were idolaters. While the commandant was at the 
top of the tower with many of our people, an In- 
dian, followed by three others who kept the doors, 
put in the interior a vase with very odoriferous per- 
fumes, which seemed of storax. ‘This Indian was 
old; he burned many perfumes before the idols 
which were in the tower, and sang in a loud voice 
a song, which was always in the same tone. We 
supposed that he was invoking his idols. * * * * * 
These Indians carried our commandant with ten or 
twelve Spaniards, and gave them to eat ina hall con- 
structed of stones very close together, and covered 
with straw. Before the hall was a large well, from 


AN ANCIENT INDIAN VILLAGE. 369 


which everybody drank. * * * * ‘They then left us 
alone, and we entered the village, where all. the 
houses were built of stone. Among others, we saw 
five very well made, and commanded by small tow- 
ers. ‘The base of these edifices is very large and 
massive ; the budding is very small at the top. 
They appeared to have been built a long time, but 
there are also modern ones. 

“That village, or bourg, was paved with concave 
stones. ‘The streets, elevated at the sides, descend- 
ed, inclining toward the middle, which was paved 
entirely with large stones. ‘The sides were occu- 
pied by the houses of the inhabitants. They are 
constructed of stone from the foundation to half the 
height of the walls, and covered with straw. To 
judge by the edifices and houses, these Indians appear 
to be very ingenious ; and if we had not seen a num- 
ber of recent constructions, we should have thought 
that these buildings were the works of the Span- 
iards. ‘This island appears to me very handsome. 
* * * ® We penetrated, to the number of ten men, 
three or four miles in the interior. We saw there 
edifices and habitations separated one from another, 
and very well constructed.” 

On the tenth of Feburary, 1519, the armament of 
Cortez rendezvoused at this island. Bernal Dias 
was again a companion, and was an actor in a scene 
which he describes as follows: “ There was on the 
island of Cozumel a temple containing some hideous 
idols, to which all the Indians of the neighbouring 

Vou. W—A aa 


370 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


districts used to go frequently in solemn procession. 
One morning the courts of this temple were filled 
with Indians, and curiosity having also drawn many 
of us thither, we found them burning odoriferous 
resins like our incense, and shortly after an old man 
in a large loose mantle ascended to the top of the 
temple, and harangued or preached to the multitude 
for a considerable time. Cortez, who was present, 
at length called to him Melchorejo, an Indian prisoner 
taken on a previous voyage to Yucatan, to question 
him concerning the evil doctrines which the old man 
was delivering. He then summoned all-the ca- 
ciques and chief persons to come before him, and as 
well as he could, by signs and interpretations, ex- 
plained to them that the’idols which they worship- 
ped were not gods, but evil things, which would 
draw their souls down to hell, and that, if they wish- 
ed to remain in brotherly connexion with us, they 
must pull them down, and place in their stead the 
crucifix of our Lord, by whose assistance they would 
obtain good harvests and the salvation of their souls, 
with many other good and holy reasons, which he 
expressed very well. ‘The priests and chiefs replied 
that they worshipped these gods as their ancestors 
had done, because they were kind to them, and that, 
if we attempted to molest them, the gods would con- 
vince us of their power-by destroying us in the sea. 
Cortez then ordered the idols to be prostrated, which 
we immediately did, rolling them down some steps. 
He next sent for lime, of which there was abundance 


TEMPLES OF THE INDIANS. 37] 


in the place, and Indian masons, by whom, under 
our direction, a very handsome altar was construct- 
ed, whereon we placed an image of the Holy Virgin ; 
and the carpenters having made a crucifix, which 
was erected in a smalk chapel close to the altar. 
mass was said by the reverend father Juan Dias, 
and listened to by the priests, ahieks, and the rest of 
the natives with great attention.” 

These are the accounts given by eyewitnesses of 
what they saw on the first visits of the Spaniards. 
The later historians are more explicit, and speak of 
Cozumel as a place containing many adoratorios 
and temples, as a principal sanctuary and place of 
pilgrimage, standing to Yucatan in the same relation 
as Rome to the Catholic world. Gomarra describes 
one temple as being “like a square tower, broad 
at the base, having steps on the sides, and at the 
top a chamber covered with straw, with four doors 
or windows, with their breastworks or corridors. In 
the hollow, which seems like a chapel, they seat 
or paint their gods. Such was that which stood 
near the seacoast.” 

By these accounts I had been imduced to visit 
the island of Cozumel; and an incidental notice 
in the Modern Traveller, speaking of existing ruins 
as remains of Spanish buildings, led me to suspect 
that their character had been mistaken, and that 
they were really vestiges of the original population ; 
but on the ground we asked ourselves where to look 
for them. Amid all the devastations that attended 


372 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


the progress of the Spaniards in America, none is 
more complete than that which has swept over the 
island of Cozumel. When I[ resolved to visit it I 
was not aware that it was uninhabited ; and knowing 
it to be but thirty miles long, I supposed that, with- 
out much difficulty, a thorough exploration could be 
made ; but even before landing we saw that it would 
be impossible to accomplish this, and idle to make 
the attempt. ‘T‘he whole island was overgrown with 
trees, and, except along the shore or within the 
clearing around the hut, it was impossible to move 
in any direction without cutting a path. We had 
only our two sailors, and if we should cut by the 
compass through the heart of the island, we might 
pass within a few feet of a building without perceiv- 
ing it. Fortunately, however, on the borders of the 
clearing there were vestiges of ancient population, 
which, from the directions of Don Vicente Albino, 
we had no difficulty in finding. One of them, stand- 
ing about two hundred feet distant from the sea, and 
even now visible above the tops of the trees to ves- 
sels sailing by, is represented in the engraving that 
follows. It stands on a terrace, and has steps on all 
four of its sides. ‘The building measures sixteen 
feet square; it had four doors facing the cardinal 
points, and, as will be seen by the figure of a man 
sitting on the steps, itis very low. ‘The exterior is 
of plain stone, but was formerly stuccoed and paint- 
ed, traces of which are still visible. The doorways 
open into a narrow corridor only twenty inches 


= 


TERRACES AND BUILDINGS. 373 




























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































wide, which encompasses a small room eight feet six 
inches long and five feet wide, having a doorway 
Opening tothe centre. | 

South-southeast from this, near an opposite an- 
gle of the clearing, and five or six hundred feet from 
the sea, stands another building raised upon a ter- 
race, consisting of a single apartment, twenty feet 
front and six feet ten inches deep, having two door- 


ways and a back wall seven feet thick. The height 
Il 32 


374 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


is ten feet, the arch is triangular, and on the walls 
are the remains of paintings. 

These were the only buildings in the clearing, 
and though, doubtless, many more lie buried in the 
woods, we saw no other on the island; but to us 
these were pregnant with instruction, ‘The building 
presented in the engraving, standing close to the sea, 
answers, in all its general features, the description of 
the “ towers” seen by Grijalva and his companions 
as they sailed along the coast. The ascent is by 
steps, the base ws very massive, the building is small 
at the top, it is about the height of two men placed 
one above the other, and at this day we may say, as 
the Spaniards did, that, to zudge by thew edifices, 
these Indians appear to be very ingenious. It is an 
interesting fact, moreover, that not only our patron 
and sailors called this building a “tower,” but in a 
late article published in the proceedings of the Royal 
Geographical Society at London, entitled “ Sketch 
of the Eastern Coast of Central America, compiled 
from Notes of Captain Richard Owen and the Offi- 
cers of her Majesty’s Ship Thunder and Schooner 
Lark,” this building, with others of the same general 
character, is indicated by the name of a “tower.” 
So far as the route of Grijalva can be traced with 
certainty, there is strong reason to believe that the 
Spaniards landed for the first time in the bay on the 
shore of which this building stands, and there is no 
violence in the supposition that the building present- 
ed is the very tower in which the Spaniards saw the 


IDENTITY OF THE RUINED CITIES. 3705 


performance of idolatrous rites; perhaps it is the 
same temple from which Bernal Dias and his com- 
panions rolled the idols down the steps. And more 
than this, establishing the great result for which we 
had visited this island, these buildings were identi- 
cally the same with those on the mainland; if we 
had seen hundreds, we could not have been more 
firmly convinced that they were all erected and oc- 
cupied by the same people; and if not a single cor- 
roborating circumstance existed besides, they afford 
in themselves abundant and conclusive proof that 
the ruined cities on the continent, the building of 
which has been ascribed to races lost, perished, and 
unknown, were inhabited by the very same Indians 
who occupied the country at the time of the conquest. 

At the rear of the last building, buried in the 
woods, so that we should never have found it but 
for our patron, is another memorial, perhaps equal in 
interest to any now existing on the island of Cozu- 
mel. It is the ruins of a’ Spanish church, sixty or 
seventy feet front and two hundred deep. The 
front wall has almost wholly fallen, but the side 
walls are standing to the height of about twenty 
feet. The plastering remains, and along the base 
is a line of painted ornaments. The interior is en- 
cumbered with the ruins of the fallen roof, over- 
grown with bushes; a tree is growing out of the 
great altar, and the whole is a scene of irrecovera- 
ble destruction. The history of this church is as 
obscure as that of the ruined temples whose worship 


376 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


it supplanted. When it was built or why it was 
abandoned, and, indeed, its very existence, are ut- 
terly unknown to the inhabitants of New Spain. 
There is no record or tradition in regard to it, and, 
doubtless, any attempt at this day to investigate its 
history would be fruitless. In the obscurity that 
now envelops it we read a lesson upon the vanity 
of human expectations, showing the ignorance of 
the conquerors in regard to the value of the new- 
ly-discovered countries in America. Benito Pe- 
rez, a priest who accompanied the expedition of 
Grijalva, solicited from the king the bishopric of 
this island. Atthe same time, a more distinguished 
ecclesiastic was asking for that of the island of 
Cuba. The king advanced the latter to the higher 
honour of the bishopric of Cozumel, and put off 
Benito Perez with what was considered the com- 
paratively insignificant see of Culhua. Cozumel is 
now a desert, and Culhua, or Mexico, is the rich- 
est bishopric in New Spain. 

But I have a particular reason for presenting to 
the reader this ruined church. It is a notion, or, 
rather, a principle, pervading all the old Spanish 
writers, that at some early day Christianity had been 
preached to the Indians, and connected with this is 
the belief that the cross was found by the first con- 
querors in the province of Yucatan as a symbol of 
Christian worship. Prophecies are recorded sup- 
posed to show a traditionary knowledge of its former 
existence, and foretelling that from the rising of the 


THE COZUMEL CROSS. 377 


sun should come a bearded people and white, who 
should carry aloft the sign of the cross, which their 
gods could not reach, and from which they should 
fly away. The same vague idea exists to this day, 
and, in general, when the padres pay any attention 
to the antiquities of the country, they are always 
quick in discovering some real or imaginary resem- 
blance to the cross. A strong support of this belief 
is advanced in the “ Cozumel Cross” at Merida, 
found on the island of Cozumel, and in the time of 
Cogolludo, as at this day, supposed to have been an 
object of reverence among the Indians before their 
conversion to Christianity. 

Until the destruction of that edifice it stood on a 
pedestal in the patio of the Franciscan convent, 
and, as we were told, from the time when it was 
placed there, no lightning had ever struck the build- 
ing, as had often happened before. It is now in the 
Church of the Mejorada, and in looking for it at 
that place, Mr. Catherwood and myself were invited 
into the cell of an octogenarian monk then lying 
in his hammock, for many years unable to cross the 
threshold of his door, but in the full exercise of his 
mental powers, who told us, in a tone which seemed 
to indicate that he had done what would procure 
hima remission from many sins, that he had him- 
self dug it up from among the ruins, and had it set 
up where it is now seen. It is fixed in the wall of 
the first altar on the left, and is almost the first ob- 
ject that arrests the eye of one entering the church. 

Vout. IL—B BB 


378 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


It is of stone, has a venerable appearance of anti- 
quity, and has extended on it in half relief an image 
of the Saviour, made of plaster, with the hands ‘and 
feet nailed. At the first glance we were satisfied 
that, whatever might be the truth in regard to its 
early history, it was, at least, wrought into its pres- 
ent shape under the direction of the monks.. -And 
though, at that time, we did not expect ever to:know 
anything more about it, the ruins of this church 
cleared up in our minds all possible mystery con- 
nected with its existence, : 

In front of the building is a cemented platform, 
broken and uprooted by trees, but still preserving 
its form; and on this stand two square pillars, 
which, as we supposed on the spot, had once sup- 
ported crosses, and we were immediately impressed 
with the belief that one of these missing symbols was 
that now known as the “ Cozumel Cross,” and that 
it had probably been carried away by some pious 
monk at or about the time when the church became 
a ruin and the island depopulated. For myself, I 
have no doubt of the fact ; and I regard it as impor-. 
tant, for, even though crosses may have been found 
in Yucatan, the connecting of the “ Cozumel Cross” 
with the ruined church on the island completely in- 
validates the strongest proof offered at this day that 
the cross was ever recognised by the Indians asa | 
symbol of worship. | 

At noon we had finished all our work, but there 
was a charm about our absolute proprietorship of 


RARE BIRDS.—A SUDDEN STORM. 379 


this desolate island which made us regret that there 
was not more to give us occupation. Doctor Ca- 
bot found in it a rich field for his ornithological pur- 
suits, but he was rather unfortunate. Two speci- 
mens of rare birds, which he had dissected and put 
away to dry, were destroyed by ants. In the clear- 
ing was a dead tree, holding on its topmost branch- 
es the nest of a hawk of a rare species, the eggs 
of which were unknown to naturalists. The nest 
seemed to have been built in apprehension of our 
visit. [he dead branches were barely able to sup- 
port it, and would evidently bear no additional 
weight. The patron and sailors cut down the tree, 
and the eggs were broken, but preserved in frag- 
ments. 

In the afternoon we picked up shells along the 
shore, and toward evening we again took a bath; 
while we were in the water black clouds gather- 
ed suddenly, thunder rolled, lightning flashed, and 
sea-birds flew screaming over our heads. Rain 
following quickly, we snatched up our clothing 
and ran for the hut. Looking back for a moment, 
we saw our canoa under way, with scarcely a 
yard of mainsail, and seeming like a great bird fly- 
ing over the water. As she turned the point of 
the island and disappeared our fears were roused. 
From our experience of a little rough weather we 
judged it impossible for her to live through a storm 
so sudden and violent; and our sense of thankful- 
ness at not being on board made us feel more sen- 


380 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


sibly the danger of those who were. The patron 
was not familiar with the. coast, there was but 
one place in which he could find shelter, a narrow 
passage, difficult to enter even by daylight, and 
night was, almost upon him; Mr, Catherwood had 
timed. the precise moment when he turned the point, 
and we knew that the canoa would not be able to 
reach the cove before dark, but would have to ride 
through the storm, and, perhaps, be driven to sea. 
It was. fearful to think of the danger of the poor 
patron and sailors; and mingled with these fears — 
was some little uneasiness on our ownaccount, All 
our luggage and provisions were on board, as we 
had intended to sail early the next morning. ‘The 
storm had come up so suddenly that though Albino 
stood on the bank entreating, the patron would not 
wait to put a single thing on shore. We had only 
our box of table service, with coffee, sugar, tea, cho- 
colate, and a few biscuit ; even if no accident hap- 
pened, several days might elapse before the canoa 
could return, and if she never returned we should 
be five Robinson Crusoes, all alone on a desert isl- 
and. We had our guns to look to. for provisions, 
but, unluckily, we had an unusually small quantity 
of ammunition on shore. As the storm raged our 
apprehensions ran high, and. we had got so far as to 
calculate our chances of reaching the mainland by a 
raft, finding some relief in the occupation of mov- 
ing our hammocks occasionally to avoid the rain as 
it beat through the thatched roof; and at length we 
fell asleep. 


AN IRON-BOUND COAST. 38] 


CHAPTER XXI. 


Search for the Canoa.—An Iron-bound Coast.—A wild Opening. 
—A sheltered Cove.—The Canoa found.—The Account of the 
Patron.—A Man overboard.—Return:—Sea-shells.—Departure 
from Cozumel.—Coast of Yucatan.—Square Buildings.—First 
Sight of the Castillo of Tuloom.—Rancho of Tancar.—Molas.— 
His two Sons.—Visit to the Ruins of 'Tuloom.—Buildings seen 
on the Way. — Magnificent Scenery.—The Castillo.—Front 
View.—Grand Staircase. — Columns. — Corridors.—The Red 
Hand.—The Wings of the Castillo, consisting of two Ranges. 
—Devices in Stucco.—Flat Roofs.—Back View of the Castillo. 
—A Storm.—Sudden Change of Feeling.—Ruined Buildings.— 
Square Terrace.—Picturesque Sight.—Fragments of Tablets.— 
Isolated Building.-—Curious Figure.—Paintings.—Discovery of 

‘the City Wall.—Its good Preservation.—Gateways.—Watch- 
towers.—Buildings.—Ceilings constructed on a new Principle 
—Onslaught of Moschetoes. 


Very early in the morning we were moving. The 
rain had ceased, but the wind was still high, and the 
waves exhibited its power. Albino and Bernaldo’ 
were even more interested in the missing canoa 
than we, for tea and coffee were nothing to them, 
and our supply of biscuit being exhausted at break- 
fast, they had literally nothing to eat. At daylight 
Bernaldo set off along the shore, and soon after | 
followed with Albino. Passing round the point 
which had cut off our view of the canoa, we came 
upon what might well’be called an iron-bound coast, 
being a table of rock rising but a few feet above the 


382 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


level of the sea, washed by every storm, until it had 
become porous and full of holes, and the edges stuck 
up like points of rusted iron. The waves were still 
dashing over them, forming great whirlpools in the 
hollow spaces, and suggesting a frightful picture of 
the fate of any unhappy voyagers who might have 
been thrown upon them; and the rocks were strew 
ed with staves and planks from some wrecked ves- 
sel. After walking two hours I became satisfied 
that the canoa must have taken the brunt of the 
storm, and my apprehensions were seriously excited ° 
when I saw, at a long distance beyond, Bernaldo, 
whom I at first thought I had overtaken, but dis- 
covered that he had a small pyramid on his head, 
consisting of cooking vessel and provisions. He 
had met one of the sailors coming to our relief, from 
whom he had taken his burden, and was then re- 
turning. We went on, and after three hours’ pain- 
ful walking reached the cove. It was a wild, ab- 
rupt, and narrow opening between the rocks, about 
fifty feet wide, with perpendicular sides, and leading 
into a sheltered basin, which, while the sea outside 
was raging, was calm and quiet as a pond. At the 
head of this lay the canoa, which came down and 
took me on board. 

From the simple and unaffected account of the 
patron, his entry into the cove must have been sub- 
lime. Night had overtaken him, and he supposed 
that he had run by, when a flash of lightning dis- 
closed the narrow passage, and he turned the old 


SEA-SHELLS.—DEPARTURE. 383 


canoa short into the very middle of it. In passing 
through he struck upon a sunken rock, lost one man 
overboard, caught him by the light of another flash, 
and in a moment was in still water. The cove 
was imbosomed among noble trees. The water 
was twenty feet deep, and so clear that the bottom 
was distinctly visible ; and from one end ran a creek, 
which the patron said was navigable for canoes into 
the centre of the island, where it expanded into a 
lake. Sails, luggage, Doctor Cabot’s birds, and my 
copy of Cogolludo, were spread out to dry, and, af- 
ter dining upon turtles’ eggs. laid a few minutes on 
the coals, | set out on my return, gathering on the 
way an unusual harvest of shells. Ever since we, 
came upon the coast our idle moments had been 
employed in this pleasant occupation, but nowhere 
with the same success as on this island. Regular- 
ly, after stripping the shore, we returned in a few 
hours, and found others thrown up, pure and fresh 
from the sea. I was seldom more fatigued than 
when I reached the hut. 

On the third day, at twelve o’clock, the canoa 
again hove in sight, working her way round the 
point, and in a short time was at her old anchor- 
age ground. ‘The wind was still so high that the 
patron was afraid to remain; we filled our water 
casks, in an hour were on board, and left, solitary 
as we found it, the once populous island of Cozu- 
mel. A hawk mourning over its mate, which we 
carried away, was the only living thing that looked 


084 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


upon our departure ; but there was no place in our 
whole journey that we left with more regret. 

From the point at which we left the island, the 
opposite coast of Yucatan was dimly visible, and I 
would remark, that, from our own observation and 
from information given to us by others, it is the only 
point from which the opposite coast can be seen at 
all, whence it is a conclusion almost unquestionable 
that it was from this same point Grijalva steered 
for Yucatan. The wind was high, the sea rough, 
and a strong current was sweeping us down toward 
the point of Cape Catoche. About an hour before 
dark we got across the current, and stood up along 
the coast, passing three low, square buildings, appa- 
rently in a good state of preservation, but the sea 
was so rough that we could not land to examine 
them. The account of the expedition of Grijalva 
says, “ After leaving the island of Cozumel we saw 
three large villages, separated two miles from each 
other. They contained a great number of stone 
houses, with high towers, and covered with straw.” 
This must have been the very part of the coast 
where these villages were seen. ‘The whole is now 
covered with forest, but it is not unreasonable to 
suppose that the stone buildings visible on the shore 
are tokens of the buried towns in the interior. » We 
ran on till after dark, and came to anchor under a 
projecting point, behind: a reef of rocks. In the 
edge of the water was a square enclosure for turtle, 
and on the shore a deserted fisherman’s hut. 


RANCHO’ OF TANCAR. 385 


At daylight we were again under way. We pass- 
ed three more square buildings ; but as the coast was 
rocky we could not land without endangering the 
safety of our precious canoa; and far off, on a high 
cliff, stood the Castillo of ‘T'uloom, the extreme point 
at which we were aiming. At twelve o’clock we 
turned a point, and-came upon.a long, sandy beach, 
forming a bay, at the head of which was a small col- 
lection of huts, composing the rancho of 'Tancar. 
The entrance was difficult, being hemmed in’ by 
sunken reefs and rocks. ‘Iwo women were stand- 
ing in the doorway of one of the huts, except the 
old fisherman the only persons we had seen along 
this desolate coast. | 

It was this point which we expected to reach by 
land direct from Chemax. The reader will see the 
circuit it has cost us to make it, but the first glance 
satisfied.us of our good fortune in not going to it di- 
rect, for we saw the frame of the sloop we had heard 
of still on the stocks, which probably is not yet fin- 
ished. We should not have been able to get a ca- 
noa, and should have been obliged to return by the 
same road. ‘The moment the stone was thrown out 
we were in the water, wading ashore. ‘The sun 
was intensely hot, and che sand burning. In front 
of the principal hut, beside the sleop, was a thatched 
arbour to protect the carpenter who occasionally 
worked upon it. Near by was 4 ruined hut, which 
we had cleared out, and for thé chir¢ time took up 

Vou. U—C cc 33 | 


386 ' INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


our abode in a habitation erected by Molas. On 
leaving the island of Cozumel it was only to this 
desolate point on the coast that he dared venture. 
It was a situation that again suited his proscribed 
life, and having no fear of pursuit from the interior, 
his energy and industry did not desert him. He 
again cultivated his milpa, and again laid the keel of 
a sloop, being the same which we then saw unfin- 
ished. But, finding himself growing old, ina meas- 
ure forgotten and afflicted by illness, he ventured to 
appear in the village of Chemax, on returning from 
‘which, as before mentioned, with a single Indian, 
while yet eight leagues from ‘T'ancar he died in the 
road; as our informant expressed it, he died like a 
dog, without aid either human or divine. We had 
‘heard so much of Molas, of his long succession of 
calamities, and of the heavy retribution that had 
been poured upon his aged head, and we had seen 
so much of his unbroken energy, that, in spite of the 
violence and crimes imputed to him, our sympathies 
“were excited ; and having heard afterward from other 
sources the opinion expressed strongly, that during 
these long years of proscription he was the victim 
of an iniquitous and unrelenting persecution, I draw 
a veil over his history. It was but a year since he 
died, and his two sons were in possession of the ran- 
cho, both young men, who paid us a visit soon after 
our arrival. When the old man died the Indian 
left the body in the road, and came on to the rancho, 
whence these young men went up and buried it on 


‘RUINS OF TULOOM. Gav 


the spot. Afterward they went again, dug it up, 
putit in a box, brought it to the rancho, and embark- 
ed with it ina canoa for San Fernando, where some 
of their kinsmen lived. On the way they were over- 
taken by a storm, thew the body overboard, and, 
said our informant, that was the last of poor old Mo- 
las. ‘The elder son was said to have been implica- 
ted svith his father, and the curse seemed entailed 
upon him. He had lost entirely the use of one eye, 
and the other rolled feebly and lustreless in a watery 
orbit. Probably by this time he is perfectly blind. 

Our first inquiries were upon the subject of ruins. 
A short path through the woods leads to a milpa, in 
which are numerous remains of ancient buildings 
standing on terraces, but all small and dilapidated. 
These buildings once stood erect in full view from 
the sea, but now the stranger sails along the coast 
unconscious that among the trees lie shrouded the 
ruins of an aboriginal town. 

In the afternoon we set out for the ruins of Tuloom, 
a league distant on the coast, and with the Castillo 
on a high cliff in full sight. Our road lay for a mile 
and a half along the shore. ‘The beach was sandy, 
and in some places so yielding that we sank above 
the ankles, and found it a relief to take off our shoes 
and stockings, and wade in the edge of the water. 
At the end of the beach was a high rocky promon- 
tory, standing out into the sea, and cutting off all 
progress along the shore. ‘This we ascended, and 


388 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


continued along the cliff, which sloped toward the 
sea, in some places forming a perpendicular wall, and 
on our right rose great masses of rock, cutting off en- 
tirely the view of the Castillo. In half an hour we 
came unexpectedly upon a low building, apparent- 
ly an adoratorio, or altar, climbing to the top of 
which, we again saw the Castillo. Beyond the 
cliff became more rugged and barren, reminding us 
of the witches’ gathering-place in the Hartz Mount- 
ains, as described in the Faust of Goéthe; and, 
amid all its barrenness, from the crevices of the 
rocks sprang a thick growth of scrubby wild palm 
called tshike, covering the whole surface of the 
cliff. ‘Tiling through this, we reached another low 
building, from the top of which we again saw El 
Castillo, but with a great chasm between, apparent- 
ly cutting off all hope of access. By this time it 
was late, and, afraid of being overtaken by dark- 
ness on this wild range, we turned back. » Night 
was upon us when we again reached the shore. 
The sandy beach was now a welcome relief, and at 
a late hour we again reached the hut, having come 
to a rapid conclusion that a frequent repetition of 
this walk would be neither pleasant nor profitable, 
and that, in order to get through our ‘work with the 
celerity we aimed at, it would be necessary again to 
take up our abode among the ruins. 

The next morning we set out for that purpose, 
escorted by the younger Molas, a fine lad of about 
twenty, who considered our arrival the greatest in- 


WILD SCENERY. 389 


cident that had ever occurred at Tancar, and be- 
fore we reached the end of the beach he wanted to 
go travelling with us. Ascending the cliff, and pass- 
ing beyond the two buildings we had seen the day 
before, we descended from the rear of the last to the 
head of the chasm which had seemed to cut us off 
from the principal object of our visit; ascending 
again at the other end of the ravine, we entered a 
gloomy forest, and, passing a building on the left, 
with “ old walls” visible in different places indistinct- 
ly through the trees, reached the grand staircase of 
the Castillo. .The steps, the platform of the build- 
ing, and the whole area in front were overgrown 
with trees, large and principally ramon, which, with 
their deep green foliage and the mysterious buildings 
around, presented an image of a grove sacred to 
Druidical worship. 

Our boatmen and Molas cut a path up the steps, 
and, carrying up their loads, in an hour we were 
domesticated in the Castillo. We had undertaken 
our long journey to this place in utter uncertainty 
as to what we should meet with; impediments and 
difficulties had accumulated upon us, but already we 
felt indemnified for all our labour. We were amid 
the wildest scenery we had yet found in Yucatan ; 
and, besides the deep and exciting interest of the 
ruins themselves, we had around us what we want- 
ed at all the other places, the magnificence of na- 
ture. Clearing away the platform in front, we look- 

* ed over an immense forest; walking around the 


390 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


moulding of the wall, we looked out upon the 
boundless ocean, and deep in the clear water at the 
foot of the cliff we saw gliding quietly by a great 
fish eight or ten feet long. 

The plate opposite represents the front of the 
Castillo. A few of the trees which grew around it 
appear in the engraving, and one is left growing on 
the top of the lower range, with its gnarled roots 


binding the front wall and obstructing the doorway, ~ 


but no words and no drawing could convey a 
true idea of the solemnity of its living shroud, or 
of the impression made upon us when the ring of 
the axe first broke the stillness that had so long pre- 
vailed around. The building, including the wings, 
measures at its base one hundred feet in length. The 
grand staircase is thirty feet wide, with twenty-four 
steps, and a substantial balustrade on each side, still 
in good preservation, gives it an unusually imposing 
character. In the doorway are two columns, ma- 
king three entrances, with square recesses above them, 
all of which once contained ornaments, and in the 
centre one fragments of a statue still remain. ‘The 
interior is divided into two corridors, each twenty- 
six feet long; the one in front is six feet six inches 
wide, and had at each end a stone bench, or divan; 
and again on the walls we found the mysterious 
prints of the red hand.* 

* While these pages were passing through the press the author 


had an opportunity of conferring with Mr. Schoolcraft, a gentle- 
man well known for his researches into the character and habits 


. 








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THE CASTILLO. 391 


A single doorway leads to the back corridor, which 
is nine feet wide, and has a stone bench extending 
along the foot of the wall. On each side of the 
doorway are stone rings, intended for the support of 
the door, and in the back wall are oblong openings, 
which admit breezes from the sea. Both apart- 
ments have the triangular-arched ceiling, and both 
had a convenience and pleasantness of arrangement 
that suited us well as tenants. 

The wings are much lower than the principal 
building. Each consists of two ranges, the lower 
standing on a low platform, from which are steps 
leading to the upper. ‘The latter consists of two 
chambers, of which the one in front is twenty-four 
feet wide and twenty deep, having two columns in 
the doorway, and two in the middle of the chamber 
corresponding with those in the doorway. The 
centre columns were ornamented with devices in 
stucco, one of which seemed a masked face, and the 
other the head of a rabbit. The walls were entire, 
but the roof had fallen; the rubbish on the floor 
was less massive than that formed in other places by 
the remains of the triangular-arched roof, and of dif. 
ferent materials, and there were holes along the top 
of the wall, as if beams had been laid in them, al’ 
which induced us to believe that the roofs had been 


of our North American Indians, and was favoured by him with an 
interesting communication on the subject of the print of the red 
hand, which will be found in the Appendix, and for which the au- 
thor here takes occasion to offer his acknowledgments. 


392 INCIDENTS: OF TRAVEL. 


flat, and supported by wooden beams. resting upon 
the two columns in the centre. From this apart- 
ment a doorway three feet wide, close to the wall 
of the principal building, leads to a chamber twenty- 
four feet wide and nine feet deep, also roofless, and 
having the same indications that the roof had been 
flat and supported by wooden beams. 

The plate opposite, represents the back or sea 
wall of the Castillo. It rises on the brink of a high, 
broken, precipitous cliff, commanding a magnificent 
ocean view, and a picturesque line of coast, being 
itself visible from a great distance at sea. ‘The 
wall is solid, and has no doorways or entrances of 
any kind, nor even a platform around it. At 
evening, when the work of the day was ended and 
our men returned to the hut, we sat down on the 
moulding of the wall, and regretted that the door- 
ways of our lofty habitation had not opened upon 
the sea. Night, however, wrought a great change 
in our feelings. An easterly storm came on, and the 
rain beat heavily against the sea wall. We were 
obliged to stop up the oblong openings, and con- 
gratulated ourselves upon the wisdom of the ancient 
builders.. The darkness, the howling of the winds, 
the cracking of branches in the forest, and the dash- 
ing of angry waves against the cliff, gave a roman- 
tic interest, almost a sublimity to our occupation of 
this desolate building, but we were rather too hack- 
neyed travellers to enjoy it, and were much annoy- 
ed by mochetoes. 





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RUINED BUILDINGS. 393 


Our first day did not suffice to finish the clearing 
of the area in front of the Castillo. Within this 
area were several small ruined buildings, which 
seemed intended for altars. Opposite the foot of 
the steps was a square terrace, with steps on all four 
of its sides, but the platform had no structure of any 
kind upon it, and was overgrown with trees, under 
the shade of which Mr. Catherwood set up his 
camera to make his drawing; and, looking down 
upon him from the door of the Castillo, nothing 
could be finer than his position, the picturesque ef- 
fect being greatly heightened by his manner of keep- 
ing one hand in his pocket, to save it from the at- 
tacks of moschetoes, and by his expedient of tying 
his pantaloons around his legs to keep ants and oth- 
er insects from running up. | 

Adjoining the lower room of the south wing 
were extensive remains, one of which contained a 
chamber forty feet wide and nineteen deep, with 
four columns that had probably supported a flat 
roof. In another, lying on the ground, were the 
fragments of two tablets, of the same character 
with those at Labphak. 

On the north side, at the distance of about forty 
feet from the Castillo, stands a small isolated build- 
ing, a side view of which is represented in the en- 
graving opposite. It stands on a terrace, and hasa 
staircase eight feet wide, with ten or twelve broken 
steps. ‘The platform is twenty-four feet front and 


eighteen deep. The building contains a single 
Vou. I1—D pb p | 


394 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


room, having, like the Castillo, a triangular-arched 
roof. Over the doorway is the same curious figure 
we saw at Sayi, with the head down and the legs 
and arms spread out; and along the cornice were 
other curious and peculiar ornaments. The door- 
way is very low. ‘Throughout the country at times 
we had heard the building of these cities ascribed 
to corcubados, or hunchbacks, and the unusual low- 
ness of all the doorways, with the strangeness and 
desolation of all around, almost® gave colour to the 
most fanciful belief. 

The interior of this building consisted of a sin- 
gle chamber, twelve feet by seven, having the trian- 
gular-arched ceiling, and at each end a raised step 
or divan. The wall and ceiling were stuccoed 
and covered with paintings, the subjects of which 
were almost entirely effaced. 

‘The day ended without our making any advan- 
ces beyond this immediate neighbourhood, but the 
next was made memorable by the unexpected dis- 
covery that this forest-buried city was encompassed 
by a wall, which had resisted all the elements of 
destruction at work upon it, and was still erect and 
in good preservation. Since the beginning of our 
exploration we had heard of city walls, but all ves- 
tiges of them elsewhere had been uncertain, and 
our attempts to trace them unsatisfactory. Young 
Molas had told us of these, and was on the ground 
early to guide us to them. We set out without 
much expectation of any decided result, and, fol- 


THE CITY WALL. 395 


lowing him through the woods, all at once found 
ourselves confronted by a massive stone struct- 
ure running at right angles to the sea; and, fol- 
lowing its direction, we soon came to a gateway 
and watch-tower. We passed through the gateway, 
and followed the wall outside, keeping as close to 
it as the trees and bushes would permit, down to 
the sea. ‘The character of this structure could not 
be mistaken. It was, in the strictest sense, a city 
wall, the first we had seen that could be identified 
as such beyond all question, and gave colour to the 
many stories we had heard of walls, inducing us to 
believe that many of the vestiges we had seen were 
parts of continuous lines of enclosure. We imme- 
diately set about a thorough exploration, and with- 
out once breaking off, measured it from one end to 
the other. 

The engraving which follows represents the plan 
of this wall, as taken from the sea. It forms a par- 
allelogram abutting on the sea, the high, precipi- 
tous cliff forming a sea wall 1500 feet in length. 
We began our survey on the cliff at the southeast 
angle, where the abutment is much. fallen. We 
attempted to measure along the base, but the close 
growth of trees and underbrush made it difficult to 
carry the line, and we mounted to the top. Even 
then it was no easy matter. Trees growing be- 
side the wall threw their branches across it, thorns, 
bushes, and vines of every description grew out of 
it, and at every step we were obliged to cut down 


396 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 








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PEATE HERES Rei: 208 PSII 1 SPS Te YS Ds IS AS ee ey ee 


A. A. Walls. G. G. Buildings last discovered. 
B. B. Gateways. H. Building with wooden roof. 
C. C. Watch-towers. I. Altar. 

D. Castillo. J. Guard house. 

E. E. Small adoratorio. K. Senote of brackish water. 
F. F. Casas. L. L. Thick woods. 


the Agave Americana, which pierced us with its 
long, sharp points; the sun beat upon us, mosche- 
toes, flies, and other insects pestered us, but, un- 
der all annoyances, the day employed on the sum- 
mit of this wall was one of the most interesting we 
passed among ruins. | 

The wall is of rude construction, and composed 
of rough, flat stones, laid upon each other without 
mortar or cement of any kind, and it varies from 
eight to thirteen feet in thickness. ‘The south side 
has two gateways, each about five feet wide. At 
the distance of six hundred and fifty feet the wall 
turns at right angles, and runs parallel to. the sea. 
At the angle, elevated so as to give a commanding 
view, and reached by ascending a few steps, is the 


A WATCH-TOWER.  ° 397 


watch-tower represented in the following engraving, 



































































































































































































































It is twelve feet square, and has two doorways. 
The interior is plain, and against the back wall is a 
small altar, at which the guard might offer up pray- 
ers for the preservation of the city. But no guard 
sits in the watch-tower now; trees are growing 
around it; within the walls the city is desolate and 
overgrown, and without is an unbroken forest. The 
battlements, on which the proud Indian strode with 
his bow and arrow, and plumes of feathers, are sur- 


mounted by immense thorn bushes and overrun by 
II 34 


398 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


poisonous vines. The city no longer keeps watch ; 
the fiat of destruction has gone out against it, and 
in solitude it rests, the abode of silence and desola- 
tion. 

The west line, parallel with the sea, has a single 
gateway; at the angle is another watch-tower, like 
that before presented, and the wall then runs straight 
to the sea. ‘The whole circuit is twenty-eight hun- 
dred feet, and the reader may form some idea of its 
state of preservation from the fact that, except to- 
ward the abutments on the sea, we measured the 
whole length along the top of the wall. ‘The plan 
is symmetrical, encloses a rectangular area, and, as 
appears in the engraving, the Castillo occupies the 
principal and central position. ‘This, however, on 
account of the overgrown state of the area, we 
were not aware of until the plan was drawn out. 

On the north side of the wall, near the east gate- 
way, is a building thirty-six feet in front and thirty- 
four deep, divided into two principal and two smaller 
rooms, the ceilings of which had entirely fallen. At 
one corner is a senote, with the remains of steps 
leading down to it, and containing brackish water. 
Near this was a hollow rock, which furnished us 
with our supply. 

Toward the southeast corner of the wall, on the 
brow of the cliff, stands a building fifteen feet front 
and ten deep. ‘The interior is about seven feet 
high, and the ceiling is flat, and discloses an entirely 
new principle of construction. It has four princi- 


FLAT ROOFS. 399 


pal beams of wood, about six inches in diameter, 
laid on the top of the wall from end to end of the 
chamber, with smaller beams, about three inches in 
diameter, laid across the larger so closely as to touch; 
and on these crossbeams is a thick mass of mortar 
and large pebbles, which was laid on moist, and 
now forms a solid crust, being the same materials 
which we had seen in ruins on the floors of other 
rooms. Against the back wall was an altar, with a 
rude triangular stone upon it, which seemed to bear 
marks of not very distant use. On each side of 
the doorway were large sea-shells fixed in the wall 
for the support of the doors. 

These were all the buildings to which young Mo 
las conducted us, and he said there were no others 
within the area of the walls, but there were many ves- 
tiges without ; and it was our belief that the walls en- 
closed only the principal, perhaps the sacred buildings, 
and that ruins existed to a great distance beyond; but, 
with only young Molas and one boatman, being all 
that the patron could spare at a time, we did not 
consider it worth while to attempt any exploration ; 
in fact, our occupation of this walled city was too 
much disturbed to allow us to think of remaining 
long. A legion of fierce usurpers, already in posses- 
sion, were determined to drive us out, and after hard 
work by day, we had no rest at night; 


“There was never yet philosopher 
That could endure the toothache patiently ;” 


and I will venture to say that a philosopher would 


400 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


find the moschetoes of ‘T'uloom worse than the tooth- 
ache. We held our ground against them for two 
nights, but on the third, one after the other, we crawl- 
ed out of our hammocks to the platform before the 
door.. The moon was shining magnificently, light- 
ing up the darkness of the forest, and drawing a long 
silvery line upon the sea. For a time we felt our- 
selves exalted above the necessity of sleep, but by de- 
grees drowsiness overcame us, and at last we were 
all stretched at full length on the ground. The on- 
slaught was again terrible; we returned to our ham- 
mocks, but found no peace, and emerging again, kin- 
dled a large fire, and sat down to smoke till daylight. 
It was aggravating to look the moon in the face, its 
expression was so calm and composed. <A savage 
notice to quit was continually buzzing in our ears, 
and all that we cared for was to get away. 


DISCOVERY OF A BUILDING. 40] 


CHAPTER XXIL 


Discovery of a Building.—Two others.—Description of the first 
Building.—Ornaments in Stucco.—Columns.—Corridor.—Paint- 
ings.—Central Chamber.—Altar.—Upper Story.—Stone Tab- 
lets.—Another Building.—Mutilated Figure.—Apartments.—A1- 
tar.—A third Building.—This City seen by the early Spanish 
Voyagers.—Continued to be occupied after the Conquest.—Ad- 
.oratorios.—Accounts of ruined,Cities in the Interior.—Return 
Voyage.—Sea-sickness.—Nesuc. — Kancune. — Ruined Build- 
ings.—Island of Mugeres.—Sea-birds.—Appearance of the Isl- 
and.—A hideous Funeral Pile.—Ibises.—Lafitte.—Piratical As- 
sociations.—Confession of a Pirate.—Visit to the Ruins.—A 
lonely Edifice. —Grand Scene. — Corridors. — Inscriptions.— 
Square Building.—Account of Bernal Dias.—Departure from 
the Island.—Catoche.—Yalahao.—Ancient Mound.—E1 Cuyo. 
An old Acquaintance in Misfortune. 


Tue next morning we finished what remained to 
be done, and, after an early dinner, prepared to leave 
the ruins. While the men were arranging their loads 
I gave Doctor Cabot a direction to a point in the 
wall, where, in measuring around it, Mr. Catherwood 
and I had started two ocellated turkeys. He set 
out to cut his way in a straight line with his hunt- 
ing knife, and very soon, while sitting on the steps 
of the Castillo, I heard him calling to me that he had 
come upon another building which we had not seen. 
Having occasion to economize shoe leather for the 
walk back over the cliff, I at first hesitated about 
going to it, but he insisted. He was so near that 
we communicated without any particular effort of 


402 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


voice, but I could see nothing of him or of the build- 
ing. Following his path, I found him standing be- 
fore it; and while working our way around it we dis 
covered two others near by, almost invisible, so 
dense was the foliage of the trees, but the largest, - 
except the Castillo, and most important of any we 
had seen. Our plans were all deranged, for we could 
not go away without drawings of these buildings. 
We returned to the steps of the Castillo, and sum- 
moned all hands to council. The men had their 
_back-loads ready, Bernaldo reported two tortillas 
as the stock of provisions on hand, and the idea 
of another night in the Castillo struck us with dis- 
may. We had been so long accustomed to sleep 
that it had become part of our nature; a night’s rest 
was indispensable, and we determined to break up 
and return the next day. 

Before daylight the next morning Albino set off 
with Molas and the sailors, and by the time Mr. 
Catherwood afrived on the ground the clearing of 
the first buildmg was made. 

The plate opposite represents the front of this 
building. It faces the west, measures twenty-seven 
feet in length and nineteen in depth, and consists 
of two stories. The exterior had been richly dec- 
orated, and above the cornice were fragments of rich 
ornaments in stucco. The lower story has four 
columns, making five doorways opening into a nar- 
row corridor, which runs round and encloses on 
three sides a chamber in the centre. The walls of 


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RUINED EDIFICES. 403 


the corridor on both sides were covered with paint- 
ings, but green and mildewed from the rankness of 
vegetation in which the building is smothered. A 
small doorway in front opens into the chamber, 
which measures eleven feet by seven; of this, too, 
the walls were covered with paintings, decayed and 
effaced, and against the back wall was an altar for 
burning copal. 

The building on the top stands directly over the 
lower chamber, and corresponds with it in dimen- 
sions, this being the only instance we met with in 
which one room was placed directly over another. 
There was no staircase or other visible means of 
communication between the lower and upper sto- 
ries. 

At the rear of this building were others attached 
to it, or connected with it, but uprooted and thrown 
down by trees, and among the ruins were two stone 
tablets with rounded surfaces, six feet six inches 
high, two feet four inches wide, and eight inches 
thick, having upon them worn and indistinct traces 
of sculpture. 

At the short distance of fifty-three feet is the 
building represented in the engraving opposite. It 
stands on a terrace six feet high, with a staircase in 
the centre, measures forty-five feet by twenty-six, 
has two pillars in the doorway, and over the centre 
is the head of a mutilated figure. ‘I'he interior is 
divided into two principal and parallel apartments, 
and at the north extremity of the inner one is a 


404 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


smaller apartment, containing an enclosed altar five 
feet long, and three feet six inches deep, for burning 
copal. The roof had fallen, and trees were grow- 
ing out of the floor. 

Near this is another building, larger than the last, 
constructed on the same plan, but more ruined. 
These buildings were all within about two hundred 
feet of the steps of the Castillo. We were in the 
very act of leaving before we discovered them, and 
but for the accidental attempt of Doctor Cabot to 
cut through in search of birds, or if he had hap- 
pened to cut a few yards to the right hand or the 
left, we should have gone away ignorant of their 
existence. 

It will be borne in mind that when this city was 
inhabited and clear of trees, the buildings were all 
visible from the sea; the Spaniards are known to 
have sailed along this coast, and the reader will ask 
if they have given us no accounts of its existence. 
The narrative of the expedition of Grijalva, taken 
up at the point at which we left it, after crossing 
from Cozumel, continues: “ We ran along day and 
night, and the next day toward sunset we saw a 
bourg, or village, so large that Seville would not 
have appeared larger or better. We saw there a 
very high tower. There was upon the bank a 
crowd of Indians, who carried two standards, which 
they raised and lowered as signs to us to come and 
join them. ‘The same day we arrived at a bay, near 
which was a tower, the highest we had seen.- We 


ACCOUNT OF THE SPANIARDS. 405 


remarked a very considerable village; the country 
was watered by many rivers. We discovered a bay 
where a fleet would have been able to enter.’ 'This 
account is certainly not so accurate as a coast sur- 
vey would be at this day, but it is more minute than 
most accounts of the early voyages of the Span- 
iards, and, in my opinion, it is all sufficient to iden- 
tify this now desolate city. After crossing over from 
Cozumel, twenty-four hours’ sailing would. bring 
them to this part of the coast; and the next circum- 
stance mentioned, viz., the discovery of a bay where 
a fleet would have been able to enter, is still stronger, 
for at the distance of about eight leagues below 
Tuloom is the Bay of Ascension, always spoken of 
by the Spanish writers as a harbour in which the 
whole Spanish navy might lie at anchor. It is the 
only bay along the coast from Cape Catoche into 
which large vessels can enter, and constrains me to 
the belief that the desolate place now known as Tu- 
loom was that “bourg, or village, so large that Se- 
ville would not appear larger or better,” and that the 
Castillo, from which we were driven by the mosche- 
toes, was that “ highest tower which the Spaniards 
had seen.” 

Farther, it is my firm belief that this city con- 
tinued to be occupied by its aboriginal inhabitants 
long after the conquest, for Grijalva turned back 
from the Bay of Ascension, again passed with- 
out landing, and after the disastrous expedition of 
Don Francisco Montejo, the Spaniards made no at- 


406 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


~~ 


tempt upon this part of the coast, so that the aborigi- 
nes must have remained for a long time in this place 
unmolested. And the strong impression of a com- 
paratively very recent occupation is derived from 
the appearance of the buildings themselves, which, 
though not less ruined, owing to the ranker growth 
of trees, had in some instances an appearance of 
freshness and good keeping that, amid the desola- 
tion and solitude around, was almost startling. 
Outside of the walls are several small buildings, 
no doubt intended for adoratorios, or altars, one of 
which is represented in the following engraving. It 
stands on a terrace, having a circular platform, on 
the brow of the cliff, overlooking the sea, and meas- 
ures fifteen feet front by twelve deep. ‘The door- 
way faces the north. The interior consists of a 
single chamber, and against the back wall is an al- 
tar in such a state of preservation as to be fit for its 
original uses. Near the foot of the steps, overgrown 
by the scrubby wild palm which covers the whole 
cliff, is a small altar, with ornaments in stucco, one 
of which seems intended to represent a pineapple. 
These wanted entirely the massive character of the 
buildings, and are so slight that they could almost 
be pushed over with the foot. They stand in the 
open air, exposed to strong easterly winds, and al- 
most to the spray of the sea. It was impossible to 
believe that the altar had been abandoned three 
hundred years ; within that time some guardian eye 
had watched over it, some pious hand had repaired 


AN ALTAR. 407 








































































































































































































































































































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jt, and long since the arrival of the Spaniards the 
Indian had performed before it his idolatrous rites. 

Under the circumstances attending our visit to it, 
we found this one of the most interesting places we 
had seen in our whole exploration of ruins; but Tam 
compelled to omit many details deserving of descrip- 
tion and comment, and shall close with one remark. 
The reader knows the difficulty we had in reach- 


408 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ing this place from the interior. The whole trian 
cular region from Valladolid to the Bay of Ascension 
on one side, and the port of Yalahao on the other, 
is not traversed by a single road, and the rancho 
of Molas is the only settlement along the coast. 
It is a region entirely unknown; no white man 
ever enters it. Ruined cities no doubt exist, and 
young Molas told us of a large building many 
leagues in the interior, known to an old Indian, 
covered with paintings in bright and vivid colours, 
and the subjects of which were still perfect. With 
difficulty we contrived to see this Indian, but he 
was extremely uncommunicative ; said it was many 
years since he saw the building; that he had come 
upon it in the dry season while hunting, and should 
not be able to find it again. It is my belief that 
within this region cities like those we have seen 
in ruins were kept up and occupied for a long time, 
perhaps one or two centuries, after the conquest, and 
that, down to a comparatively late period, Indians 
were living in them, the same as before the discoy- 
ery of America. In fact, I conceive it to be not 
impossible that within this secluded region may ex- 
ist at this day, unknown to white men, a living ab- 
original city, occupied by relics of the ancient race, 
who still worship in the temples of their fathers. - 
The reader will, perhaps, think that I have gone 
far enough. We had now finished our voyage along 
the coast, and the end which we had in view was 
fully accomplished. We had seen, abandoned and 


RETURN VOYAGE. 409 


in ruins, the same buildings which the Spaniards 
saw entire and inhabited by Indians, and we had 
identified them beyond question as the works of the 
same people who created the great ruined cities over 
which, when we began our journey, hung a veil of 
seemingly impenetrable mystery. At that time, we 
believed the discovery and comparison of these re- 
mains to be the surest, if not the only means, of re- 
moving this veil; and though other proofs had accu- 
mulated upon us, these were not on that account the 
less interesting. 

Our journey in this direction is now ended, and 
our course is homeward. We were detained one 
day at ‘T'ancar by a storm, and on Tuesday morn- 
ing the patron came to us in a hurry with a summons 
on board; the wind had veered so that he could get 
out of the harbour; and, bidding good-by to the 
carpenter and Molas, we were soon under way. 
The wind was still high, and the sea so rough, and 
kept the little canoa in such commotion, that in half 
an hour nearly all our party were sea-sick. The 
servants were completely disabled, and there was no 
chance for a dinner. We had a strong wind and 
fair, passed several small square stone buildings, like 
those of which representations have been given, but, 
on account of the rough sea and rocky shore we 
could not land, and late in the afternoon put in at 
Nesuc, where we had stopped before, distinguished 
by its solitary palm tree. 

Early in the morning we were again under way, 

Vou. (1 —F Fr 35 


410 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


and coasted to the point of Kancune, where we 
landed in front of a rancho then occupied by a party 
of fishermen. Near by was another great pile of the 
skeletons of turtles. ‘I'he fishermen were busy with- 
in the hut mending their nets, and seemed to be lead- 
ing a hardy, independent, and social life, entirely dif- 
ferent from anything seen in the interior. A short 
walk brought us to the point, on which stood two 
dilapidated buildings, one entirely fallen, and the 
other having dimensions like the smallest of those 
seen at Tuloom. It was so intensely hot, and we 
were so annoyed by millions of sand-flies, that we 
did not think it worth while to stay, but returned to 
the hut, embarked, and, crossing over, in two hours 
reached the island of Mugeres. Near the shore 
were immense flocks of sea-birds, sitting on the piles 
of a turtle enclosure; over our heads was a cloud 
of white ibises, and, somewhat to the surprise of the 
fishermen, our coming to anchor was signalized by 
a discharge of heavy bird artillery, and a splashing 
into the water to pick up the dead and wounded. 
In wading ashore we stuck in a mud-bank, and had 
time to contemplate the picturesque beauty of the 
scene before us. It was a small sandy beach, with 
a rocky coast on each side, and trees growing down 
to the water, broken only by a small clearing oppe- 
site the beach, in which were two palm leaf huts, 
and an arbour covered with palm leaves. Under 
the arbour hung three small hammocks, and a hardy, 
sun-dried fisherman sat repairing a net, with two In- 


ISLAND OF MUGERES. All 


dian boys engaged in weaving a new one. ‘The old 
fisherman, without desisting from his work, invited 
us to the hammocks, and, to satisfy our invariable 
first want on this coast, sent a boy for water, which, 
though not good, was better than that on board. 
Along the shore, at no great distance, was a funer- 
al pile of the carcasses of turtles, half burned, and 
covered with countless millions of flies, actually heav- 
ing and moving as if alive; and near this hideous 
pile, as if to contrast beauty and deformity, was a 
tree, covered to its topmost boughs with the white 
ibis, its green foliage appearing like an ornamental 
frame-work to their snowy plumage. We ordered 
our dinner to be brought to the arbour, and as we 
were sitting down a canoe came ashore; the fisher- 
men dragged across the beach two large turtles, and 
leaving the carcasses to swell the funeral pile, brought 
down to the arbour strings of eggs, and the parts 
that served for food or oil, and hung them quivering 
in the sun along the fence, their sudden blackness 
from swarms of flies disturbing somewhat the satis- 
faction with which we had first hailed this arbour. 
We had again stopped to visit ruins, but in the af- 
ternoon it rained, and we could not go to them. 
The arbour was no protection, and we were obliged’ 
to go inside the hut, which was snug and comforta- 
ple, the oil jars being arranged under the eaves, with 
turtle-shells tied up carefully in bundles, and on the 
rafters hung strings of eggs, while nets, old sails, 
blocks, and other characteristic furniture of a fish- 


412 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


erman’s hut filled up the corners. It was no hard- 
ship to be obliged to pass the afternoon among these 
fishermen, for their hardy, independent occupation 
cave manliness to their character, and freedom to 
their speech and manners. 

The island was famed among the fishermen as 
the rendezvous of Lafitte the pirate, and the patron 
told us that our host had been his prisoner two 
years. ‘This man was about fifty-five, tall and thin, 
and his face was so darkened by the sun that it was 
hard to say whether he was white or of mixed 
blood. We remarked that he was not fond of talk- 
ing of his captivity; he said he did not know how 
Jong he was a prisoner nor where he was taken; and 
as the business of piracy was rather complicated in 
these parts, we conceived a suspicion that he had 
not been a prisoner entirely against his will. His 
fellow-fishermen had no narrow feelings on the 
subject, and perhaps gave a preference to piracy as 
a larger business, and one that brought more ounces, 
than catching turtles. They seemed, however, to 
have an idea that los Ingleses entertained. differ- 
ent views, and the prisoner, el pobre, as our patron 
called him, said those things were all over, and it 
was best not to disturb them. He could not, how. 
ever, help dropping a few words in behalf of La 
fitte, or Monsieur Lafitta; he did not know wheth- 
er it was true what people said of him, but he nev- 
er hurt the poor fishermen, and, led on by degrees 
he told us that Lafitte died in his arms, and that his 


CONFESSION OF A PIRATE. 413 


widow, a sefiora del Norte from Mobile, was then 
living in great distress at Silan, the port at which 
we intended to disembark. 

Besides piratical associations, this island had 
been the scene of a strange incident within the 
last two years. A sailor lay on his death-bed in 
Cadiz, penniless and friendless, and, to requite the 
kindness of his host for allowing him to die in 
his house, he told the latter that, some years be- 
fore, he had belonged to a band of pirates, and 
upon one occasion, after taking a rich prize and 
murdering all on board, he had gone ashore with 
his companions at the island of Mugeres, and bu- 
ried a large sum of money in gold. When the 
piratical hordes were broken up he escaped, and 
dared not return to regions where he might be rec- 
ognised. He said his companions were all hanged 
except one Portuguese, who lived in the island of 
Antigua, and, as the only means of requiting his 
host’s kindness, he advised him to seek out the Por- 
tuguese and recover the money. ‘The host at first 
thought the story was told only to secure a contin- 
uance of good treatment, and paid no attention to 
it, but the sailor died protesting its truth. The 
Spaniard made a voyage to the island of Antigua, 
and found out the Portuguese, who at first denied 
al. knowledge of the transaction, but at length con- 
fessed it, and said that he was only waiting for an 
opportunity to go and dig up the gold. Some ar- 
rangement was made between them, and the Span- 
iard procured a small vessel, and set sail with the 


“ 


414 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


Portuguese on board. ‘The vessel became short of 
provisions and water, and off Yalahao encountered 
the patron of our canoa, who, as he said, on re- 
ceiving twenty-five dollars in advance, piloted her 
into that place for supplies. While there the story 
of the treasure leaked out; the Portuguese tried to 
escape, but the Spaniard set sail, carrying him off. 
The fishermen followed in canoas. The Portu- 
guese, under the influence of threats, indicated a 
place for the landing, and was carried on shore 
bound. He. protested that in that condition he 
could not find the spot; he had never been there 
except at the time of burying the gold, and required 
time and freedom of movement; but the Spaniard, 
furious at the notoriety given to the thing, and at 
the uninvited company of the fishermen, refused to 
trust him, and set his men to digging, the fishermen 
joining on their own account. ‘The digging con- 
tinued two days, during which time the Portuguese 
was treated with great cruelty, and the sympathy 
of the fishermen was excited, and increased by the 
consideration that this island was within their fish- 
ing limits, and if they got the Portuguese into their 
own possession, they could come back at any time 
and dig up the money quietly, without any wrangle 
with strangers. In the mean time, our old friend 
Don Vicente Albino, then living at Cozumel, hear- 
ing of treasure on an island belonging to nobody, 
and so near his own, ran down with his sloop and 
put in for the Portuguese. The Spanish proprietor 


VISIT TO THE RUINS. 415 


was obliged to give him up. Don Vicente could not 
get hold of him, and the fishermen carried him off 
to Yalahao, where, finding himself out of the actual 
grasp of any of them, he set up for himself, and by 
the first opportunity slipped off in a canoa for Cam- 
peachy, since which he had never been heard of. 
Karly in the morning, under the guidance of two 
of the fishermen, we set out to visit the ruins. ‘The 
island of Mugeres is between four and five miles 
long, half a mile wide, and four miles distant from 
the mainland. ‘The ruins were at the north end. 
For a short distance we kept along the shore, and 
then struck into a path cut straight across the isl- 
and. About half way across we came to a santa 
cruz, or holy cross, set up by the fishermen, at 
which place we heard distinctly the sound of the 
breakers on the opposite shore. ‘T'o the right a 
faint track was perceptible, which soon disappeared 
altogether ; but our guides knew the direction, and, 
cutting a way with the machete, we came out upon 
a high, rocky, perpendicular cliff, which commanded 
an immense expanse of ocean, and against which 
the waves, roused by the storm of the night before, 
were dashing grandly. We followed along the 
brink of the cliff and around the edges of great per- 
pendicular chasms, the ground being bare of trees 
and covered with a scrubby plant, called the uba, 
with gnarled roots spreading like the branches of 
a grape-vine. At the point terminating the island, 
standing boldly upon the sea, was the lonely edifice 


416 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


represented.in the engraving opposite. Below, 
rocking on the waves, was a small canoa, with our 
host then in the act of getting on board a turtle. 
It was the wildest and grandest scene we had 
looked upon in our whole journey. 

The steps which led to the building are in good 
preservation, and at the foot is a platform, with the 
ruins of analtar. ‘The front, on one side of the door- 
way, has fallen. When entire it measured twenty- 
eight feet, and it is fifteen feet deep. On the top is 
a cross, probably erected by the fishermen. ‘The in- 
terior is divided into two corridors, and in the wall 
of that in front are three small doorways leading to 
the inner corridor. The ceiling had the triangular 
arch, and throughout the hand of the builders on 
the mainland could not be mistaken, but on the 
walls were writings which seemed strangely famil- 
iar in an aboriginal building. ‘These inscriptions 
were, 

D. Doyle, 1842. A. C. Goodall, 1842. 
H. M. Ship Blossom. 


11th October, 1811. Corsaire Frances (Chebek) le Vengeur, 
Capt. Pierre Liovet ; 


and wafered on the wall on separate cards were the 
names of the officers of the T’exan schooners of war 
San Bernard and San Antonio. 

At the distance of a few hundred feet was anoth- 
er building about fourteen feet square, having fou 
doorways, with steps on three sides, dilapidated, and 




































































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ACCOUNT OF BERNAL DIAS. 417 


almost inaccessible on account cf the thickets of 
cactus and thorn bushes growing around it. * 

In the account given by Bernal Dias of the ex- 
pedition of Cortez, he says that, after leaving the 
island of Cozumel, the fleet was separated by a gale 
of wind, but the next day all the ships joined com- 
pany except one, which, according to the surmise 
of the pilot, was found in a certain bay on the coast 
wind bound. “Here,” says Bernal Dias, “ several of 
our companions went on shore, and found in the 
town hard by, four temples, the idols in which rep- 
resented human female figures of large size, for which 
reason we named this place Punta de las Mugeres,” 
or the Point of the Women. Gomarra speaks of a 
Cape Mugeres, and says, “ At this place there were 
towers covered with wood and straw, in which, in 
the best order, were put many idols, that appeared to 
be representations of women.” No mention is made 
by any of the old historians of the zs/and of Muge- 
res, but there is no point or cape on the mainland; 
and, considering the ignorance of the coast which 
must have existed in the early voyages, it is not im- 
possible to believe that the Spaniards gave to the 
promontory on which these buildings stand the name 
of point or cape, in which case the building pre- 
sented in the engraving may be one of the temples 
or towers referred to by Bernal Dias and Gomarra. 

We returned to the hut ready to embark, and at 
twelve o'clock we took leave of the fishermen, and 
were again on board our canoa. 


Vou. IL—G a « 


418 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The wind was fair and strong, and very soon we 
reached the point of the island. ‘Toward dark we 
doubled Catoche, and, for the first time coasting all 
night, day broke upon us in the harbour of Yalahao. 
After the desolate regions we had been visiting, the 
old pirates’ haunt seemed a metropolis. We an- 
chored on a mud-bank leg deep, and now discover- 
ed that our patron, hired only for the occasion, in- 
tended to leave us, and substitute another. Afraid 
of the men following, and subjecting us to detention, 
we forwarded a threatening message to the agent, 
and remained on board. 

At seven o'clock we were again under way, with 
the wind directly astern, and as much as we could 
carry, the canoa rolling so that we were compelled 
to take in the mainsail. ‘The coast was low, barren, 
and monotonous. At three o’clock we passed an 
ancient mound, towering above the huts that con- 
stituted the port of El Cuyo, a landmark for sailors, 
visible at sea three leagues distant; but our patron 
told us that there were no buildings or vestiges of 
ruins. 

At four o’clock we saw an old acquaintance in 
misfortune. It was the brig which had arrived at 
Sisal a few hours after we did, lying a wreck on the 
beach, with foremast and bowsprit broken, sails strip- 
ped, but the hull still entire; probably long before 
this the shore is strewed with her fragments. 


PORT OF SILAN. 419 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


Port of Silan.—Hospitality.—Breakfast.— Walk along the Shore. 
—Flamingoes.—Shooting Excursion to Punta Arenas.—Wild 
Road. — Take Possession of a Hut. — Great Variety and im- 
mense Numbers of Wild Fowl.—Get Stuck in the Mud.—Fla- 
mingoes and Spoonbills.—A ludicrous Adventure.—Dissection 
of Birds.—Return to the Port.—The Quartel.—A Catastrophe. 
—Departure.—Village of Silan.—Gigantic Mound.—View from 
its Top.—Another Mound.—Accounts of Herrera and Cogollu- 
do.—The Grave of Lafitte.—Hospitality of the Padres.—De- 
parture from Silan.—Temax.—Church and Convent.—Izamal. 
—Fiesta of Santa Cruz.—Appearance of the City.—Mounds.— 
Colossal Ornaments in Stucco.—Gigantic Head.—Stupendous 
Mound.—Interior Chambers.—Church and Convent.—Built on 
an ancient Mound.—A Legend.—A Ball. 


Ar daylight the next morning we crawled out 
from the bottom of the canoa, and found her an- 
chored off the port of Silan, which consisted of a 
few huts built around a sandy square on a low, bar- 
ren coast. We gave portions of our tattered gar- 
ments to the waves, and waded ashore. It was 
three weeks since we had embarked; our coast 
voyage had been more interesting than we expect- 
ed, but there was no part of it so agreeable as the 
end; we were but too happy to get rid of the dis- 
comfort and confinement of the canoa. The pa- 
tron went to find lodgings for us, and I followed 
with one of the boatmen, carrying a load. A man 
just opening the door of a sort of warehouse called 


420 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


to me, and offered it for our accommodation, which, 
on looking within, I did not hesitate to accept. 
This man had never heard of us nor we of him, 
and, probably, neither will ever hear of the other 
again. It was another instance of the universally 
kind treatment we met with in all parts of the 
country. 3 

Silan is the port of Izamal, which is eleven 
leagues distant. According to our arrangement, Di- 
mas was to meet us here with the horses, but he had 
not arrived or been heard of. We learned, how- 
ever, that there was no green food to be procured 
at this place, which Dimas had probably learned at 
the village, three leagues distant, and had therefore 
remained at that place ; yet we had some uneasiness, 
as he had to make a journey of two hundred and 
fifty miles, and our first business was to, despatch 
Albino for information. Next we had a great en- 
terprise in procuring breakfast, and after this in 
providing for dinner, which we determined should 
be the best the country afforded, to consist of fish 
and fowl, each of which had to be bought separ- 
ately, and, with separate portions of lard sent to 
different houses to be cooked. 

During the interval of preparation I took a 
walk along the shore. Toward the end of a 
sandy beach was a projecting point, on a line with 
which I noticed on the water what seemed to be a 
red cloud of singular brilliancy, and, at the same 
time, delicacy of colour, which,-on drawing nearer, 


SHOOTING EXCURSION. 421 


1 found to be a flat covered with flamingoes. On 
my return I reported the discovery to Doctor Cabot, 
when our host gave us such a glowing account of 
flamingoes, scarlet ibises, and roseate spoonbills at 
Punta Arenas, about two leagues distant, that my 
imagination was excited by the idea of such clouds 
of beautiful plumage. Doctor Cabot was anxious 
for closer acquaintance with the birds, and we de- 
termined, in case our horses arrived, to go thither 
that same afternoon, and, after a few hours’ shoot- 
ing, overtake Mr. Catherwood the next day at Iza- 
mal. In good time our horses arrived with Dimas, 
in fine order; and as he had had some days’ rest, 
we took him and an Indian procured by our host, 
and at about four o'clock set out. Jor the first 
league our road lay directly along the shore, but far- 
ther on there were projecting points, to cut off which 
a footpath led among mangrove trees, with shoots 
growing from the branches into the ground, forming 
what seemed a naked and impenetrable canebrake, 
surmounted by thick green foliage. In many pla- 
ces it was difficult to advance on horseback; from 
time to time we came out upon a broken, stony 
shore, and, considering that we had set out merely 
for a short ride, we found ourselves travelling on one 
of the wildest roads we had met with in the coun- 
try. At dusk we reached a hut in a beautifully 
picturesque position, imbosomed in a small bay, with 
a frail bridge, about two feet wide, running out some 


distance from the shore, and a canoa floating at the 
II 36 


* 


422 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


end. ‘The hut consisted of two parts, connected by 
a thatched arbour, empty, and apparently begging 
for a tenant. A string of fish hung on one of the 
beams, and on the ground were a few smothered 
coals. We swung our hammocks, kindled a fire, and 
when the occupant arrived had a cup of chocolate 
ready for him, and endeavoured to make him feel 
himself at home; but this was no easy matter. He 
was a lad of about sixteen, the son of the proprietor, 
who had gone away that day, the fishing season 
being nearly over. He certainly was not expecting 
us, and was taken somewhat by surprise; he had 
never seen a foreigner in his life, and was by no 
means reassured when we told him that we had 
come to shoot flamingoes and spoonbills. Our In- 
dian gave him some indistinct notion of our object, 
of which, however, he must have had a very imper- 
fect notion himself; and seeming to intimate that we 
were beyond his comprehension, or, at all events, en- 
tirely too many for him, the boy withdrew to the 
other division of the hut, and left us in full posses- 
sion. Instead of a rough night we were well pro- 
vided for, but, unfortunately, there was no ramon or 
water for the horses. We made an affecting appeal 
to our young host, and he spared us part of a small 
stock of maize, which he had on hand for the ma- 
king of his own tortillas, but they had to go with- 
out water, as none could be procured at night. 

In the gray of the morning we heard a loud quack- 
ing of ducks, which almost lifted us out of our ham- 


IMMENSE NUMBERS OF WILD FOWL. 423 


mocks, and carried us out of doors. Beyond the 
point of the little dock was along sand-bank, cover- 
ed with immense flocks of these birds. Our host 
could not go with us till he had examined his fish- 
ing nets, and Dimas had to take the horses to water, 
but we pushed off with our Indian to set the canoe. 
Very soon we found that he was not familiar with 
the place, or with the management of a canoe, and, 
what was worse, we could not understand a word he 
said. Below us the shore formed a large bay, with 
the Punta de Arenas, or Point of Sand, projecting 
toward us, bordered down to the water’s edge with 
trees, and all over the bay were sand-banks, barely 
appearing above water, and covered with wild fowl 
of every description known, in numbers almost ex- 
ceeding the powers of conception. In recurring to 
them afterward, Doctor Cabot enumerated of ducks, 
the mallard, pin-tail, blooming teal, widgeon, and 
gadwall; of bitterns, the American bittern, least bit- 
tern, great and lesser egret, blue crane, great blue 
heron, Louisiana heron, night heron, two kinds of 
rail, one clapper rail, white ibis, willets, snipes, red- 
breasted snipe, least snipe, semi-palmated sandpi- 
per, black-breasted plover, marble godwit, long-bill- 
ed curlew, osprey or fish-hawk, black hawk, and oth- 
er smaller birds, of which we took no note, and all 
together, with their brilliant plumage and varied 
notes, forming, as we passed among them, an anima- 
ted and exciting scene, but it was no field for sport- 
ing. It would have been slaughter to shoot among 


424 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


them. In an hour we could have loaded our canoe 
with birds, of which one or two brace would be con- 
sidered a fair morning’s work. But we did not 
know what to do with them, and, besides, these were 
not what we were looking for. A single flock of 
flamingoes flew by us, but out of reach, and at the 
moment we were stuck in the mud. Our Indian 
made horrible work in setting us, and continued to 
hit every flat till we reached the head of the bay, 
and entered a branch like a creek. Unable to hold 
discourse with him, and supposing that he was set- 
ting right, we continued to move slowly up the stream, 
until we found that we were getting beyond the re- 
gion of birds; but the scene was so quiet and peace- 
ful that we were loth to return; and still on each 
bank the snowy plumage of the white ibis appeared 
among the green of the trees, and the heron stood 
like a statue in the water, turning his long neck al- 
most imperceptibly, and looking at us. But we had 
no time for quiet enjoyment, and turned back. Near 
the mouth of the creek a flock of roseate spoonbills 
flew over our heads, also out of reach, but we saw 
where they alighted, and setting toward them till 
we were stopped by a mud-bank, we took to the 
water, or rather to the mud, in which we found our 
lower members moving suddenly downward to parts 
unknown, and in some danger of descending till our 
sombreros only remained as monuments of our mud-> 
dy grave. Extricating ourselves, moving in another 
direction, and again sinking and drawing back, for 


A LUDICROUS ADVENTURE. 425 


two hours we toiled, struggled, floundered, and fired, 
a laughing stock to the beautiful spoonbills in the free 
element above. At length Dr. Cabot brought one 
down, and we parted. In following our separate for 
tunes along the shore I shot one, which fell at the oth 
er side of a stream. As I[ rushed in, the water rose 
above all my mud stains, and I fell back, and hastily 
disencumbered myself of clothing. A high wind 
was sweeping over the bay; having no stone at hand 
with which to secure them, my hat and light gar- 
ments were blown into the water, and at the same 
moment the roseate bird stood up, opened its large 
wings, and fluttered along the beach. Distracted be- 
tween the bird and the fugitive clothing, I let the 
latter go, and gave chase to the bird, after securing 
which, and holding it kicking under my arm, I pur- 
sued my habiliments, now some distance apart, into 
the water, and at length got back to dry land with 
my miscellaneous load, and stood on the beach a pic- 
ture of an antiquary in distress, doubtless illustrating 
the proverb to the Indian, who now came to my re- 
lief, if he had ever met with it in the course of his 
reading, that no man can be a hero to his valet de 
chambre. In honour of the event I determined to 
make an essay in dissection, and to carry the bird 
home with me as a memorial of this place. 

By this time Doctor Cabot joined me, and it was 
necessary to return. We had procured but one bird 
each, and had been disappointed of the grand specta- 
cle of clouds of beautiful plumage, but the account of 


Vout. I.—H u a 


426 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


our host was no doubt true to the letter, for the sea- 
son was late, and the brilliant birds we were seek- 
ing had wended their way north ; but even of these, 
with the knowledge we had acquired of localities, 
two canoes, and good setters, in another day we 
could have procured any number we wanted. For 
mere sporting, such a ground is not often seen, and 
the idea of a shooting lodge, or rather hut, on the 
shores of Punta de Arenas for a few months in the 
season, with a party large enough to consume the 
game, presented itself almost as attractively as that 
of exploring ruined cities. On our return, each of 
us made a single shot, from which we picked up be- 
tween thirty and forty birds, leaving others crippled 
and hopping on the beach. We got back to the hut, 
and tumbled them all into a dry pot (the feathers 
being, of course, taken off), and sat down ourselves 
to the business of dissection. With a finishing 
touch from Doctor Cabot, I prepared a miserable 
specimen of a beautiful bird, looking upon it, never- 
theless, with great satisfaction as the memorial of 
a remarkable place and an interesting adventure. 
In the mean time, the birds on the fire were getting 
on swimmingly, in a literal sense, giving decided 
evidence touching the richness of their feeding- 
grounds. We had only tortillas as an accompani- 
ment, but neither we nor the birds had any reason 
to complain. 

At four o'clock we took leave of our young host, 
and at dark reached the port, and rode across the 


A GATASTROPHE. 427 


sandy plaza. The door which had opened to us 
with so much alacrity was now shut, but not by the 
hand of inhospitality. Mr. Catherwood and the 
owner had left for the village; and the house was 
locked up. Some of the villagers, however, came 
to us, and conducted us to the quartel, which was 
garrisoned by two women, who surrendered at dis. 
cretion, provided us with chocolate, and, although 
the hut was abundantly large for all of us, unexpect- 
edly bade us good-night, and withdrew to a neigh- 
bour’s to sleep. If they had remained, not being 
worn down by fatigue as we were, and, consequent- 
ly, more wakeful, a sad catastrophe might have 
been prevented. We laid our birds carefully on a 
table to dry; during the night a cat entered, and we 
were awaked to see the fruits of our hard day’s la- 
bour dragged along the floor, and the cat bounding 
from them, and escaping through a hole in the side 
of the hut. It was no consolation to us, butif she 
had nine lives, the arsenic used for preserving the 
birds had probably taken them all. 

Before daylight the next morning we were again 
in the saddle. For some distance back from the port 
the ground had been washed or overflowed by the 
sea, and was a sandy, barren mangrove brake. Be- 
yond commenced the same broken, stony surface, 
and before we had proceeded far we discovered that 
Doctor Cabot’s horse was lame. Not to lose time, 
I rode on to procure another, and at eight o’clock 
reached the village of Silan. In the suburbs I dis- 


428 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


covered unexpectedly the towering memorial. of 
another ruined city, and riding into the plaza, 
saw at one angle, near the wall of the church, the 
gigantic mound represented in the plate opposite, 
the grandest we had'seen in the country. Much 
as we had seen of ruins, the unexpected sight of 
this added immensely to the interest of our long 
journeying among the remains of aboriginal gran- 
deur. Leaving my horse at the casa real, and 
directing the alcalde to see about getting one for 
Doctor Cabot, I walked over to the mound. At 
the base, and inside of the wall of the church, were 
five large orange trees, loaded with fruit.. A group 
of Indians were engaged in getting stone out of the 
mound to repair the wall, and a young man was su- 
perintending them, whom I immediately recognised 
as the padre. _He accompanied me to the top of 
the mound ; it was one of the largest we had seen, 
being about fifty feet high and four hundred feet long. 
There was no building or structure of any kind vis- 
ible; whatever had been upon it had fallen or been 
pulled down. The church, the wall of the yard, 
and the few stone houses in the village, had been 
built of materials taken from it. ! 

In walking along the top we reached a hole, 
at the bottom of which I discovered the broken 
arch of a ceiling, and looked through it into an 
apartment below. This explained the character of 
the structure. A building had extended the whole 
length of the mound, the upper part of which had 
















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































RUINS OF SILAN. 429 


fallen, and the ruins had made the whole a long, con- 
fused, and undistinguishable mass. ‘The top com- 
manded an extensive view of a great wooded plain, 
and near by, rising above the trees, was another 
mound, which, within a few years, had been crown- 
ed with an edifice, called, as at Chichen and Tuloom, 
El Castillo. The padre, a young man, but little over 
thirty, remembered when this Castillo stood with its 
doorways open, pillars in them, and corridors around. 
The sight of these ruins was entirely unexpected ; 
if they had been all we had met with in the country, 
we should have gazed upon them with perplexity and 
wonder; and they possessed unusual interest from the 
fact that they existed in a place, the name of which 
was known and familiar to us as that of an exist- 
ing aboriginal town at the time of the conquest. 

In tracing the disorderly flight of the Spaniards 
from Chichen Itza, we find them first at Silan, which 
is described by Herrera as being “Then a fine ‘Town, 
the Lord whereof was a Youth of the Race of the 
Cheles, then a Christian, and great Friend to Cap- 
tain Francis de Montejo, who received and enter- 
tained them. ‘Tirrok was near Silan; that and the 
other Towns along the Coast were subject to the 
Cheles, who, having been no way disobliged by the 
Spaniards, did not disturb them, and so they con- 
tinued some Months, when, seeing no Possibility of 
being supplied with Men and other ‘Things they 
wanted, they resolved quite to abandon that Coun- 
try. In order to it, they were to march to Cam- 


» 


430 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


peachy, forty Leagues from Silan, which was looked 
upon as very dangerous, because the Country was 
very populous; but the Lord of Silan and others 
bearing them Company, they arrived in Safety, and 
the Cheles returned to their own Homes.” Cogol- 
ludo, too, traces the routed Spaniards to Silan, but 
thence, with more probability, he carries them by 
sea to Campeachy ; for, as he well suggests, the lords 
of Silan would not have been able to give them safe 
escort through forty leagues of territory inhabited 
by different tribes, all hostile to the Spaniards, and 
some of them hostile to the Cheles themselves. ‘This 
difference, however, is unimportant; both accounts 
prove that there was a large town of aboriginal in- 
habitants in this vicinity, and, as at Ticul and Noh- 
cacab, we must either suppose that these great 
mounds are the remains of the aboriginal town, or 
we must believe that another town of the same name 
existed in this immediate neighbourhood, of which 
no trace whatever now remains. 

The reader may remember that we left the port 
before daylight. As I stood on the top of the mound, 
all that I needed to fill up the measure of my satis- 
faction was the certainty of a breakfast. The pa- 
dre seemed to divine my thoughts; he relieved me 
from all uneasiness, and enabled me to contemplate 
vith a tranquil mind the sublimity of these remains 
of afallen people. _ When Doctor Cabot arrived he 
found a table that surprised him. 

Silan was known tous as the scene of a modern 


THE GRAVE OF LAFITTE. 431 


and minor event. Our ambiguous friend on the isl- 
and of Mugeres had told us that at this place Lafitte 
died and was buried, and I inquired for his grave. 
The padre was not in the village at the time, and 
did not know whether he was buried in the campo 
santo or the church, but supposed that, as Lafitte 
was a distinguished man, it was in the latter. We 
went thither, and examined the graves in the floor, 
and the padre drew out from amid some rubbish a 
cross, with a name on it, which he supposed to be 
that of Lafitte, but it was not. ‘The sexton who of- 
ficiated at the burial was dead; the padre sent for 
several of the inhabitants, but a cloud hung over the 
memory of the pirate: all knew of his death and 
burial, but none knew or cared to tell where he was 
laid. We had heard, also, that his widow was liv- 
ing in the place, but this was not true. ‘There was, 
however, a negress who had been a servant to the 
latter, and who, we were told, spoke English; the 
cura sent for her, but she was so intoxicated that she 
could not make her appearance. 

The last of the padre’s good offices was procuring 
a horse for Doctor Cabot, which the alcalde had 
not-been able to do. It was the last time we were 
thrown upon the hospitality of a padre, and in ta- 
king leave of him, | do repent me that in my con- 
fidential intercourse with the reader I have at times 
let fall what I might better have kept to myself. 

At ten o’clock we set out, and at half past twelve » 
reached T’emax, two and a half leagues distant. It 


we 
432 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


had a fine plaza, with a great church and convent, 
and a stone casa real, with a broad corridor in front, 
under which the guarda were swinging in hammocks. 

We were but six leagues from Izamal, at which 
place, we learned, a fiesta was then going on, and 
there was to be a ballin the evening; but we could 
neither push our horses through, nor procure a ca- 
lesa, though the road was good for wheel carriages. 

Early in the evening we took to our hammocks, 
but had hardly lain down, when one of the guarda 
came to inform us that a caricoche had just arrived 
from Izamal, and.wanted a return freight. We had 
it brought down to the casa real, and at two o’clock, 
by a bright moonlight, we started, leaving Dimas to 
follow with the horses. ‘The caricoche was drawn 
by three mules, and had in it a bed, on which we 
reclined at full length. 

At nine o'clock we entered the suburbs of lza- 
mal, but fifteen leagues from Merida. The streets 
had lamps, and were designated by visible objects, 
as at Merida. Peeping through the curtain, we rode 
into the plaza, which was alive with people, dressed 
in clean clothes for the fiesta. ‘There was an un- 
usual proportion of gentlemen with black hats .and 
canes, and some with military coats, bright and flash- 
ing to such a degree that we congratulated ourselves 
upon not having made our entry on horseback. We 
had on our shooting-clothes, with the mud stains 
from Punta Arenas, and by computation our beards 
were of twenty-eight days’ growth. In the centre 


IZAMAL. 433 


of the plaza our driver stopped for instructions. We 
directed him to the casa real, and as we were mov- 
ing on, our English saddles, strapped on behind, 
caught the eye of Albino, who conducted us to the 
house in which Mr. Catherwood was already domi- 
ciled. This house was a short distance from the 
plaza, built of stone, and about sixty feet front, di- 
vided into two large salas, with rooms adjoining, a 
broad corridor behind, and a large yard for horses, 
for all which the rent was three reales per day, be- 
ing, as we were advised, but two more than anybody 
else would have been obliged to pay. In a few mo- 
ments we had done all that our scanty wardrobe 
would allow, and were again in the street. 

It was the last day of the fiesta of Santa Cruz. 
By the grace of a beneficent government, the vil- 
lage of Izamal had been erected into a city, and the 
jubilee on account of this accession of political dig- 
nity was added to the festival of the holy cross. 
The bull-fights were over, but the bull-ring, fanci- 
fully ornamented, still remained in the centre of the 
plaza, and two bulls stood under one of the corri- 
dors, pierced with wounds and streaming with blood, 
as memorials of the fight. Amid a crowd of Indians 
were parties of vecinos, or white people, gay and 
well dressed in the style and costume of the capital, 
and under the corridor of a corner house, with an 
arbour projecting into the plaza, music was sound- 
ing to summon the people to a ball. From desola- 
tion and solitude we had come into the midst of 

Vou. I—I 11 37 


434 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


gayeties, festivities, and rejoicings. But amid this 
gay scene the eye turned involuntarily to immense 
mounds rising grandly above the tops of the houses, 
from which the whole city had been built, without 
seeming to diminish their colossal proportions, pro- 
claiming the power of those who reared them, and 
destined, apparently, to stand, when the feebler struc- 
tures of their more civilized conquerors shall have 
crumbled ‘into dust. 

One of these great mounds, having at that time 
benches upon it, commanding a view of the bull- 
fight in the plaza, blocked up the yard of the house 
we occupied, and extended into the adjoining yard 
of the Senora Mendez, who was the owner of 
both. It is, perhaps, two hundred feet long and thir- 
ty high. ‘The part in our yard was entirely ruined, 
but in that of the sefora it appeared that its vast 
sides had been covered from one end to the other 
with colossal ornaments in stucco, most of which 
had fallen, but among the fragments is the gigantic 
head represented in the plate opposite. It is seven 
feet eight inches in height and seven feet in width. 
The ground-work is of projecting stones, which are 
covered with stucco. A stone one foot six inches 
long protrudes from the chin, intended, perhaps, for 
burning copal on, as a sort of altar. It was the first 
time we had seen an ornament of+this kind upon 
the exterior of any of these structures. In sternness 
and harshness of expression it reminded us of the 
idols at Copan, and its colossal proportions, with the 








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CHURCH AND CONVENT. 436 


corresponding dimensions of the mound, gave an 
unusual impression of grandeur. 

‘I'wo or three streets distant from the plaza, but 
visible in all its huge proportions, was the most stu- 
pendous mound we had seen in the country, being, 
perhaps, six or seven hundred feet long and sixty 
feet high, which, we ascertained beyond all doubt, 
had interior chambers. 

‘Turning from these memorials of former power 
to the degraded race that now lingers round them, 
the stranger might run wild with speculation and 
conjecture, but on the north side of the plaza is a 
monument that recalls his roving thoughts, and holds 
up to his gaze a leaf in history. It is the great 
church and convent of Franciscan monks, standing 
on an elevation, and giving a character to the plaza 
that no other in Yucatan possesses. ‘T'wo flights 
of stone steps lead up to it, and the area upon which 
they open is probably two hundred feet square; on 
three sides is a colonnade, forming a noble promen- 
ade, overlooking the city and the surrounding coun- 
try to a great distance. ‘This great elevation was ev- 
idently artificial, and not the work of the Spaniards. 

At the earliest period of the conquest we have 
accounts of the large aboriginal town of Iza- 
mal, and, fortunately, in the pious care of the early 
monks to record the erection of their church and 
convent, the only memorials which, to the exclusive 
and absorbing spirit of the times, seemed worth pre- 
serving, we have authentic records which incident- 


436 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


ally dispel all uncertainty respecting the origin ol 
these ancient mounds. 

According to the account of the padre Lizana, 
in the year 1553, at the second chapter held in the 
province, the padre Ir. Diego de Landa was elected 
guardian of the convent of Izamal, and charged to 
erect the building, the monks having lived until that 
time in houses of straw. He selected as the place 
for the foundation one of the cerros, or mounds, which 
then existed, “made by hand,” and called by the na- 
tives Phapphol-chac, which, says the padre Liza- — 
na, “signifies the habitation or residence of the priests 
of the gods; 'this place was selected in order that 
the devil might be driven away by the divine pres- 
ence of Christ sacrificed, and that the place in which 
the priests of the idol lived, and which had been the 
place of abomination and idolatry, might become that 
of sanctification, where the ministers of the true God 
should offer sacrifices and adoration due to his Di- 
vine Majesty.” 

This is clear and unmistakeable testimony as to 
the original use and occupation of the mound on 
which the church and convent of Izamal now stand; 
and the same account goes on farther, and says: 
“At another mound, on which was the idol called 
Kinick Kakmo, he founded a village or settlement, 
calling it San Ildefonzo, and to the other cerro, 
called Humpictok, where falls the village of Izamal, 
he gave for patron San Antonio de Padua, demol- 
ishing the temple which was there ; and where was 


A LEGEND. 437 


the idol called Haboc he founded a village called 
Santa Maria, by which means he sought to sweep 
away the memory of so great idolatry.” 

It is unnecessary to comment upon these ac- 
courts. Testimony, never intended for that pur- 
pose, proves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that 
these great mounds had upon them temples and 
idols, and the habitations of priests, in the actual 
use of the Indians who were found occupying the 
country at the time of the conquest; and, in my 
opinion, if it stood alone, unsupported by any other, 
it is sufficient to dispel every cloud of mystery that 
hangs over the ruins of Yucatan. 

At the present day Izamal is distinguished 
throughout Yucatan for its fair, but it has a stronger 
hold upon the feelings of the Indians in the sancti- 
ty of its Virgin. From the history of the proceed- 
ings of the monks, it appears that the Indians con- 
tinued to worship El Demonio, and the venerable 
padre Landa, after severe wrestling with the great 
enemy, proposed to procure an image of the holy 
Virgin, offering to go for it himself to Guatimala, in 
which city there was a skilful sculptor. At the 
same time, another was wanted for the convent at 
Merida. The two images were brought in a box, 
and though there was much rain on the way, it nev- 
er fell on the box, or on the Indians who carried it, 
or within some steps of them. At Merida the 
monks selected for their convent the one which had 
the most beautiful countenance and seemed most 


438 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


devout; the other, though brought by the Indians 
of Izamal, and intended for that place, the Span- 
iards of Valladolid claimed, and said that it ought 
not to remain in a village of Indians. ‘The Indians 
of Izamal resisted, the Spaniards attempted to 
carry their purpose into execution, and when in 
the suburbs of the village, the image became so 
heavy that the bearers could not carry it. Divine 
Majesty interposed on behalf of the Indians of Iza- 
mal, and there was not sufficient human force to re- 
move the statue. ‘The devotion of the faithful in 
creased at the sight of these marvels, and in all parts, 
by land and sea, by means of invocation to this Vir- 
gin, innumerable miracles have been wrought, of 
which, says Cogolludo, a volume might have been 
written, if proper care had been taken. 

But, alas! though this Virgin could save others, 
herself she could not save. On the left of the door 
of the church is a square stone set in the wall, 
with an inscription, which tells the mournful tale, 
that in the great burning of the church the Santa 
Virgen was entirely consumed ; but the hearts of 
the faithful are cheered by the assurance that one as 
good as she has been put in her place. 

After our visit to the church we returned to the 
corridor overlooking the plaza. A young girl whom 
I had noticed all day sitting in one of the corridors 
was still there, looking down upon the gay scene in 
the plaza, but apparently abstracted, pensive, per- 
haps looking in vain for one who did not appear. 


AIBAEIY & 439 


in the evening we went to the ball, which was 
held in, or rather out of, a house on the corner of 
the plaza. The sala was opened as a refreshment 
room. In the corridor was a row of seats for those 
who did not take part in the dance, and in front 
was an arbour projecting into the plaza, with a ce- 
mented floor for the dancers. The ball had begun 
at eight o’clock the evening before, and, with an in- 
termission of a few hours toward daylight, had been 
continued ever since; but it was manifest that there 
were limits to the capabilities of human nature even 
in dancing. ‘I‘he room was already less crowded 
than it had been during the day. ‘T'wo officers of 
the army (militia), who had been toiling all day 
with a determination that promised well for Yuca- 
tan under the threatened invasion of Mexico, had 
danced off their military coats, but still kept the floor 
in light jackets. One placed a chair for his droop- 
ing partner during the intervals of the dance. An- 
other followed his example, and by degrees every 
lady had her seat of relief. At the last call only 
four couples appeared on the floor. Ladies, fiddlers, 
and lights were all wearing out together, and we 
went away. Before we were in our hammocks a 
loud burst of music, as it were a last effort of expi- 
ting nature, broke up the ball. 


440 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


Departure for Merida. — The Road.—Cacalchen.— Hacienda ot 
Aké.—The Ruins.—Great Mound called the Palace.—Immense 
Staircase.—Grand Approach. —Columns.—No Remains of a 
Building on the Mound.—Other Mounds.—Interior Chamber.— 
A Senote.—Rude and Massive Character of these Ruins.—End 
of Journey among ruined Cities.— Number of Cities discovered. 
—Of the Builders of the American Cities.—Opinion.—Built by 
the Ancestors of the present Race of Indians.—Reply to Argu- 
ments urged against this Belief—Absence of Tradition.—Un- 

‘ paralleled Circumstances which attended the Conquest. — Un- 
scrupulous Policy of the Spaniards.—Want of Tradition not 
confined to Events before the Conquest.—Nor peculiar to Amer- 
ican Ruins. —Degeneracy of the Indians.— Insufficiency of 
these Arguments.—Farewell to Ruins. 


THe next morning we started for Merida, with the 
intention of diverging for the last time to visit the 
ruins of Aké. The road was one of the best in the 
country, made for carriages, but rough, stony, and 
uninteresting. At Cacalchen, five leagues. distant, 
we stopped to dine and procure a guide to Aké. 

In the afternoon we proceeded, taking with us 
only our hammocks, and leaving Dimas to go on di- 
rect with the luggage to Merida. ‘Turning off imme- 
diately from the main road, we entered the woods, 
and following a narrow path, a little before dark we 
reached the hacienda of Aké, and for the last time 
were among the towering and colossal memorials 
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RUINS OF AKE. 44] 


erty of the Conde Peon, and, contrary to our expec- 
tations, it was small, neglected, in a ruinous condi- 
tion, and entirely destitute of all kinds of supplies. 
We could not procure even eggs, literally nothing 
but tortillas. ‘The major domo was away, the prin- 
cipal building locked up, and the only shelter we 
could obtain was.a miserable little hut, full of fleas, 
which no sweeping could clear out. We had con- 
sidered all our rough work over, but again, and with- 
in a day’s journey of Merida, we were in bad straits 
By great ingenuity, and giving them the shortest pos- 
sible tie, Albino contrived to swing our hammocks, 
and having no other resource, early in the evening 
we fell into them. At about ten o’clock we heard 
the tramp of a horse, and the major domo arrived. 
Surprised to find such unexpected visiters, but glad 
to see them, he unlocked the hacienda, and walking 
out in our winding sheets, we took possession; our 
hammocks followed, and were hung up anew. In 
the morning he provided us with breakfast, after 
which, accompanied by him and all the Indians of 
the hacienda, being only six, we went round to see 
the ruins. 

The plate opposite represents a great mound tow 
ering in full sight from the door of the hacienda, and 
called El Palacio, or the Palace. ‘The ascent is on 
the south side, by an immense staircase, one hun- 
dred and thirty-seven feet wide, forming an approach 
of rude grandeur, perhaps equal to any that ever ex- 
isted in the country. Each step is four feet five 


Vou. IL.—K «x k 


442 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


inches long, and one foot five inches in height. The 
platform on the top is two hundred and twenty-five 
feet in length, and fifty in breadth. On this great 
platform stand thirty-six shafts, or columns, in three 
parallel rows of twelve, about ten feet apart from 
north to south, and fifteen from east to west. They 
are from fourteen to sixteen feet in height, four feet 
on each side, and are composed of separate stones, 
from one to two feet in thickness. But few have 
fallen, though some have lost their upper layer of 
stones. ‘I‘here are no remains of any structure or 
of a roof. If there ever was one, it must have been 
of wood, which would seem most incongruous and 
inappropriate for such a solid structure of stones. 
The whole mound was so overgrown that we could 
not ascertain the juxtaposition of the pillars till the 
growth was cleared away, when we made out the 
whole, but with little or no enlargement of our 
knowledge as to its uses and purposes. It was a 
new and extraordinary feature, entirely different from 
any we had seen, and at the very end of our jour- 
ney, when we supposed ourselves familiar with the 
character of American ruins, threw over them a new 
air of mystery. 

In the same vicinity are other mounds of colossal 
dimensions, one of which is also called the Palace, 
but of a different construction and without pillars. 
On another, at the head of the ruined staircase, is an 
opening under the top of a doorway, nearly filled up, 
crawling through which, by means of the crotch of 


MASSIVE CHARACTER OF THESE RUINS. 448 


a tree I descended into a dark chamber fifteen feet 
long and ten wide, of rude construction, and of which 
some of the stones in the wall measured seven feet 
in length. ‘This is called Akabna, casa obscura, or 
dark house. Near this is a senote, with the remains 
of steps leading down to water, which once supplied 
the ancient city. The ruins cover a great extent, 
but all were overgrown, and in a condition too ruin- 
ous to be presented in a drawing. They were ru- 
der and more massive than all the others we had 
seen, bore the stamp of an older era, and more than 
any others, in fact, for the first time in the country, 
suggested the idea of Cyclopean remains; but even 
here we have a gleam: of historic light, faint, it is 
true, but, in my mind, sufficient to dispel all unsettled 
and wavering notions. 

In the account of the march of Don Francisco 
Montejo from the coast, presented in the early part 
of these pages, it is mentioned that the Spaniards 
reached a town called Aké, at which they found 
themselves confronted by a great multitude of armed 
Indians. A desperate battle ensued, which lasted 
two days, and in which the Spaniards were victo- 
rious, but gained no easy triumph. 

There is no other mention of Aké, and in this 
there is no allusion whatever to the buildings, but 
from its geographical position, and the direction of 
the line of march of the Spanish army from the coast, 
[have little doubt that their Aké was the place now 
known by the same name, and occupied by the ruims 


44.4. INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


last presented. Itis, indeed, strange that no mention 
is made of the buildings, but regard must be had to 
the circumstances of danger and death which sur- 
rounded the Spaniards, and which were doubtless al- 
ways uppermost in the minds of the soldiers who 
formed that disastrous expedition. At all events, it 
is not more strange than the want of any description 
of the great buildings of Chichen, and we have the 
strongest possible proof that no correct inference is 
to be drawn from the silence of the Spaniards, for 
in the comparatively minute account of the conquest 
of Mexico, we find that the Spanish army marched 
under the very shadow of the great pyramids of 
Otumba, and yet not the slightest mention whatever 
is made of their existence. 

I have now finished my journey among ruined 
cities. [ know that it is impossible by any narra- 
tive to convey to the reader a true idea of the pow- 
erful and exciting interest of wandering among them, 
and I have avoided as much as possible all detailed 
descriptions, but I trust that these pages will serve to 
give some general idea of the appearance which this 
country once presented. Jn our long, irregular, and 
devious route we have discovered the crumbling re- 
inains of forty-four ancient cities, most of them but 
a short distance apart, though, from the great change 
that has taken place in the country, and the break- 
ing up of the old roads, having no direct communica- 
tion with each other; with but few exceptions, all 
were lost, buried, and unknown, never before visited 


OF THE BUILDERS OF THESE CITIES. 445 


by a stranger, and some of them, perhaps, never look- 
ed upon by the eyes of awhite man. Involuntarily 
we turn for a moment to the frightful scenes of which 
this now desolate region must have been the thea- 
tre; the scenes of blood, agony, and wo which pre- 
ceded the desolation or abandonment of these cities 
But, leaving the boundless space in which imagina- 
tion might rove, I confine myself to the considera- 
tion of facts. If I may be permitted to say so, in 
the whole history of discoveries there is nothing to 
be compared with those here presented. ‘They give 
an entirely new aspect to the great Continent on 
which we live, and bring up with more force than 
ever the great question which I once, with some hes- 
itation, undertook to consider : Who were the build- 
ers of these American cities ? 

My opinion on this question has been fully and 
freely expressed, “that they are not the works of 
people who have passed away, and whose history 
is lost, but of the same races who inhabited the coun- 
try at the time of the Spanish conquest, or of some 
not very distant progenitors.” Some were probably 
in ruins, but in general I believe that they were oc- 
cupied by the Indians at the time of the Spanish in- 
vasion. ‘The grounds of this belief are interspersed 
throughout these pages ; they are interwoven with so 
many facts and circumstances that I do not recapit- 
ulate them; and in conclusion J shall only refer brief- 
ly to those arguments which I consider the strongest 
that are urged against this belief. 

38 


446 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


The first is the entire absence of all traditions. But 
[ would ask, may not this be accounted for by the un- 
paralleled circumstances which attended the conquest 
and subjugation of Spanish America? Every cap- 
tain or discoverer, on first planting the royal stand- 
ard on the shores of a new country; made proclama- 
tion according to a form drawn up by the most em- 
inent divines and lawyers in Spain, the most extra- 
ordinary that ever appeared in the history of man- 
kind; entreating and requiring the inhabitants to ac- 
knowledge and obey the church as the superior and 
guide of the universe, the holy father called the pope, 
and his majesty as king and sovereign lord of these 
islands, and of the terra firma; and concluding, 
“But if you will not comply, or maliciously delay 
to obey my injunction, then, with the help of God, 
I will enter your country by force ; I will carry on 
war against you with the utmost violence; I will 
subject you to the yoke of obedience, to the church 
and king; I will take your wives and children, and 
make them slaves, and sell or dispose of them accord- 
ing to his majesty’s pleasure. I will seize your goods, 
and do you all the mischief in my power, as rebel- 
lious subjects, who will not acknowledge or submit 
to their lawful sovereign; and I protest that all the 
bloodshed and calamities which shall follow are to 
be imputed to you, and not to his majesty, or to me, 
or the gentlemen who serve under me.” 

The conquest and subjugation of the country were 
carried out in the unscrupulous spirit of this procla- 


UNSCRUPULOUS POLICY OF SPANIARDS. 447 


mation. ‘I'he pages of the historians are dyed with 
blood; and sailing on the crimson stream, with a 
master pilot at the helm, appears the leading, stern, 
and steady policy of the Spaniards, surer and more 
fatal than the sword, to subvert all the institutions 
of the natives, and to break up and utterly destroy 
all the rites, customs, and associations that might 
keep alive the memory of their fathers and their an- 
cient condition. One sad instance shows the effects 
of this policy. Before the destruction of Mayapan, 
the capital of the kingdom of Maya, all the nobles 
of the country had houses in that city, and were ex- 
empted from tribute; according to the account from 
which Cogolludo derives his authority, in the year 
1582, forty years after the conquest, all who held 
themselves for lords and nobles still claimed their 
solares (sites for mansions) as tokens of their rank; 
but now, he says, “from the change of government 
and the little estimation in which they are held, it 
does not appear that they care to preserve nobility 
for their posterity, for at this day the descendants of 
Tutul Xiu, who was the king and natural lord by 
right of the land of Maya, if they do not work with 
their own hands in manual offices, have nothing to 
eat.” And if at that early date nobles no longer 
cared for their titles, and the descendants of the 
royal house had nothing to eat but what they earn- 
ed with their own hands, it is not strange that the 
present inhabitants, nine generations removed, with- 
out any written language, borne down by three cen- 


448 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


turies of servitude, and toiling daily for a scanty sub- 
sistence, are alike ignorant and indifferent concerning 
the history of their ancestors, and the great cities ly- 
ing in ruins under their eyes. And strange or not, 
no argument can be drawn from it, for this ignorance 
is not confined to ruined cities or to events before 
the conquest. It is my belief, that among the whole 
mass of what are called Christianized Indians, there 
is not at this day one solitary tradition which can 
shed a ray of light upon any event in their history that 
occurred one hundred and fifty years from the pres- 
ent time; in fact, I believe it would be almost im- 
possible to procure any information of any kind 
whatever beyond the memory of the oldest living In- 
dian. 

Besides, the want of traditionary knowledge is not 
peculiar to these American ruins. ‘Two thousand 
years ago the Pyramids towered on the borders of 
the African Desert without any certain tradition of 
the time when they were founded; and so long back 
as the first century of the Christian era, Pliny cites 
various older authors who disagreed concerning the 
persons who built them, and even concerning the 
use and object for which they were erected. No 
traditions hang round the ruins of Greece and Rome; 
the temples of Pzestum, lost until within the last half 
century, have no traditions to identify their build- 
ers; the “holy city” has only weak inventions of 
modern monks. But for written records, Egyptian, 
Grecian, and Roman remains would be as myste- 


DEGENERACY OF THE INDIANS. 449 


rious as the ruins of America; and to come down to 
later times and countries comparatively familiar, tra- 
dition sheds no light upon the round towers of Ire- 
land, and the ruins of Stonehenge stand on Salisbu- 
ry plain without a tradition to carry us back to the 
age or nation of their builders. 

The second argument I shall notice is, that a peo- 
ple possessing the power, art, and skill to erect such 
cities, never could have fallen so low as the miseéra- 
ble Indians who now linger about their ruins. To. 
this, too, it might be sufficient to answer that their 
present condition is the natural and inevitable con- 
sequence of the same ruthless policy which laid the 
‘axe at the root of all ancient recollections, and cut 
off forever all traditionary knowledge. But waiving 
this ground, the pages of written history are burden- 
ed with changes in national character quite equal to 
that here exhibited. And again, leaving entirely out 
of the question all the analogous examples which 
might be drawn from those pages, we have close at 
hand, and under our very eyes, an illustration in 
point. ‘The Indians who inhabit that country now 
are not more changed than their Spanish masters. 
Whether debased, and but little above the grade of 
brutes, as it was the policy of the Spaniards to rep- 
resent them, or not, ‘ve know that at the time of the 
conquest they were at least proud, fierce, and war- 
like, and poured out their blood like water to save 
their inheritance from the grasp of strangers. Crush- 
ed, humbled, and bowed down as they are now by 

Vou. IL—L up 


450 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


generations of bitter servitude, even yet they are not 
more changed than the descendants of those terrible 
Spaniards who invaded and conquered their coun- 
try. In both, all traces of the daring and warlike 
character of their ancestors are entirely gone. The 
change is radical, in feelings and instincts, inborn 
and transmitted, in a measure, with the blood; and in 
contemplating this change in the Indian, the loss of 
mere mechanical skill and art seems comparatively 
nothing ; in fact, these perish of themselves, when, as 
in the case of the Indians, the school for their exer- 
cise is entirely broken up. Degraded as the Indians 
are now, they are not lower in the scale of intellect 
than the serfs of Russia, while it is a well-known 
fact that the greatest architect in that country, the 
builder of the Cazan Church at St. Petersburgh, 
was taken from that abject class, and by education 
became what he is. _In my opinion, teaching might 
again lift up the Indian, might impart to him the 
skill to sculpture stone and carve wood; and if re- 
stored to freedom, and the unshackled exercise of 
his powers of mind, there might again appear a ca- 
pacity to originate and construct, equal to that ex- 
hibited in the ruined monuments of his ancestors. 
The last argument, and that upon which most 
stress has been laid, against the*hypothesis that the 
cities were constructed by the ancestors of the pres- 
ent Indians, is the alleged absence of historical ac- 
counts in regard to the discovery or knowledge of 
such cities by the conquerors. But it is manifest 


TESTIMONY OF THE HISTORIANS. 4651 


that even if this allegation were true, the argument 
would be unsound, for it goes to deny that such cit- 
ies ever existed at all. Now there can be no doubt as 
to the fact of their existence; and as it is never pre- 
tended that they were erected since the conquest, 
they must be allowed to have been standing at that 
time. Whether erected by the Indians or by races 
perished and unknown, whether desolate or inhabit- 
ed, beyond all question the great buildings were 
there; if not entire, they must at least have been 
far more so than they are now; if desolate, perhaps 
more calculated to excite wonder than if inhabited ; 
and in either case the alleged silence of the histo- 
rian would be equally inexplicable. 

But the allegation is untrue. ‘The old historians 
are not silent. On the contrary, we have the glow- 
ing accounts of Cortez and his companions, of sol- 
diers, priests, and civilians, all concurring in repre- 
sentations of existing cities, then in the actual use 
and occupation of the Indians, with buildings and 
temples, in style and character like those presented 
in these pages. Indeed, these accounts are so glow- 
ing that modern historians, at the head of whom 
stands Robertson, have for that reason thrown dis- 
credit over them, and ascribed them to a heated im- 
agination. ‘To my mind, they bear on the face of 
them the stamp of truth, and it seems strange that 
they have been deemed worthy of so little reliance. 
But Robertson wrote upon the authority of corre- 
spondents in New Spain, one of whom, long resi- 


452 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


dent in that country, and professing to have visited 
every part of it, says that “at this day there does not 
remain the smallest vestige of any Indian building, 
public or private, either in Mexico or any province 
of New Spain.” Robertson’s informants were prob- 
ably foreign merchants resident in the city of Mex- 
ico, whose travels had been confined to the beaten 
road, and to places occupied by the Spaniards; and 
at that time the white inhabitants were in utter ig- 
norance of the great cities, desolate and in ruins, 
that lay buried in the forests. But at this day better 
information exists; vast remains have been brought 
to light, and the discoveries prove incontestably that 
those histories which make no mention of these great 
buildings are imperfect, those which deny their exist- 
ence are untrue. ‘The graves cry out for the old his- 
torians, and the mouldering skeletons of cities con- 
firm Herrera’s account of Yucatan, that “there were 
so many and such stately Stone Buildings that it 
was Amazing; and the greatest Wonder was that, 
having no Use of any Metal, they were able to raise 
such Structures, which seem to have been Temples, 
for their Houses were all of Timber, and thatched.” 
And again, he says, that “for the Space of twenty 
Years there was such Plenty throughout the Country, 
and the People multiplied so much that Men said 
the whole Province looked like one Town.” 

These arguments then—the want of tradition, the 
degeneracy of the people, and the alleged absence of 
historical accounts—are not sufficient to disturb my 


THE ANCESTORS OF THE INDIANS. 453 


belief, that the great cities now lying in ruins were 
the works of the same races who inhabited the coun- 
try at the time of the conquest. 

Who these people were, whence they came, and 
who were their progenitors, are questions that in- 
volve too many considerations to be entered upon at | 
the conclusion of these pages; but all the light that 
history sheds upon them is dim and faint, and may 
be summed up in few words. 

According to traditions, picture writings, and Mex- 
ican manuscripts written after the conquest, the Tol- 
tecs, or T'oltecans, were the first inhabitants of the 
land of Anahuac, now known as New Spain or Mex- 
ico, and they are the oldest nations on the continent 
of America of which we have any knowledge. Ban- 
ished, according to their own history, from their na- 
tive country, which was situated to the northwest 
of Mexico, in the year 596 of our era, they proceed- 
ed southward under the directions of their chiefs, 
and, after sojourning at various places on the way 
for the space of one hundred and twenty-four years, 
arrived at the banks of a river in the vale of Mexico, 
where they built the city of ‘Tula, the capital of the 
Toltecan kingdom, near the site of the present city 
of Mexico. 

_ Their monarchy lasted nearly four centuries, du- 
ring which they multiplied, extended their popula 
tion, and built numerous and large cities; but dire- 
ful calamities hung over them. Jor several years 
Heaven denied them rain; the earth refused them 


454 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


food; the air, infected with mortal contagion, filled 
the graves with dead; a great part of the nation per 
ished of famine or sickness ; the last king was among 
the number, and in the year 1052 the monarchy end- 
ed. The wretched remains of the nation took ref- 
-uge, some in Yucatan and others in Guatimala, 
while some lingered around the graves of their kin- 
dred in the great vale where Mexico was afterward 
founded. For a century the land of Anahuac lay 
waste and depopulated. The Chechemecas, follow- 
ing in the track of their ruined cities, reoccupied it, 
and after them the Acolhuans, the T'lastaltecs, and 
the Aztecs, which last were the subjects of Monte- 
zuma at the time of the invasion by the Spaniards. 

The history of all these tribes or nations is misty, 
confused, and indistinct. ‘The ‘Toltecans, represent- 
ed to have been the most ancient, are said to have 
been also the most polished. Probably they were 
the originators of that peculiar style of architecture 
found in Guatimala and Yucatan, which was adopt- 
ed by all the subsequent inhabitants; and as, accord- 
ing to their own annals, they did not set out on their 
emigration to those countries from the vale of Mex- 
ico until the year 1052 of our era, the oldest cities 
erected by them in those countries could have been 
in existence but from four to five hundred years at 
the time of the Spanish conquest. This gives them 
a very modern date compared with the Pyramids and 
temples of Egypt, and the other ruined monuments 
of the Old World; it gives them a much less antiqui- 


FAREWELL TO RUINS. _ 4586 


ty than that claimed by the Maya manuscript, and, 
in fact, much less than I should ascribe to them my- 
self. In identifying them as the works of the an- 
cestors of the present Indians, the cloud which hung 
over their origin is not removed ; the time when and 
the circumstances under which they were built, the 
rise, progress, and full development of the power, 
art, and skill required for their construction, are 
all mysteries which will not easily be unravelled. 
They rise like skeletons from the grave, wrapped in 
their burial shrouds; claiming no affinity with the 
works of any known people, but a distinct, independ- 
ent, and separate existence. ‘They stand alone, ab- 
solutely and entirely anomalous, perhaps the most 
interesting subject which at this day presents itself 
to the inquiring mind. I leave them with all their 
mystery around them; and in the feeble hope that 
these imperfect pages may in some way throw a 
glimmer of light upon the great and long vainly 
mooted question, who were the peoplers of Ameri- 
ca? I will now bid farewell to ruins. 


456 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER XXV. 


Departure.—Arrival at Merida.—Old Acquaintances.—Giraffes.— 
Aspect of the Political Horizon.—The great Question of the 
Revolution undecided.—Nomination of Deputies to the Mexican 
Congress.—Santa Ana’s Ultimatum.—Dissensions.— Pitiable 
Condition of the State.—Cause of the Convulsions of the South- 
ern Republics.—State Rights.—Preparations for Departure from 
the Country.—Invasion of Yucatan.—Parting with Friends.— 
Embarcation for Havana. — Arrival there.—A Paseo.—-The 
Tomb of Columbus.—Passage Home.—Conclusion. 

Ar two o'clock we mounted for Merida, nine 
leagues distant. We did not expect to reach it till 
night, and, from the unfortunate condition of our 
travelling costume, did not care to enter the capital 
by daylight; but, pushing on, and miscalculating the 
pace of our horses, we found ourselves in the suburbs 
at that unlucky hour when, the excessive heat being 
over, the inhabitants, in full dress, were sitting in 
the doorways or along the side-walks, talking over 
che news of the day, and particularly alive to the ap- 
pearance of such a spectacle as our party presented. 
We rode the whole length of the principal street, 
running the gauntlet between long rows of eyes, 
and conscious that we were not looked upon as 
making a very triumphal entry. Approaching the 
plaza, an old acquaintance greeted us, and accom 
panied us to the Casa de las Diligencias, a new es- 
tablishment, opened since our departure, opposite 
the convent, one of the largest and finest in the 


RETURN TO MERIDA. 457 


city, and equal to a good hotel in Italy. Very soon 
we had the best apartments, and were sitting down 
to thé du China, in English, tea, and pan Frances, 
or bread without sweetening. After our hard journey 
among Indian ranchos and unwholesome haciendas, 
at times all prostrated by illness, we had returned to 
Merida, successful beyond our utmost hopes. » Our 
rough work was all over, and our satisfaction can- 
not easily be described. 

While lingering over the table, we heard the loud 
ringing of the porter’s bell, followed by landlord and 
servants running and tumbling along the corridor, 
all crying out “La Diligencia,” and presently we 
heard the tramp of horses and the rattling of the post- 
coach from Campeachy, into the court-yard. The 
passengers came up, and among them we greeted 
with lively satisfaction our old friend Mr. Fisher, that 
citizen of the world; the last traces of whom we had 
seen on the desolate island of Cozumel. Another 
passenger, whose voice we had heard rising in Eng- 
lish from the court-yard above the jargon of Spanish 
and Indian, as if entirely on private account, and 
indifferent whether it was understood or not, imme- 
diately accosted me as an acquaintance; said that J 
had been the cause of his coming to that place, and 
if he did not succeed, should come upon me for dam- 
ages; but I soon learned that I had nothing to fear. 
Mr. Clayton had already created, perhaps, a greater 
sensation than any stranger who ever visited that 
country; he had obtained a hold upon the feelings 
Vou. J1.—M om m 39 


458 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


of the people that no explorers could ever win, and 
will be remembered long after we are forgotten. He 
had brought from the United States an entire circus 
company, with spotted horses, a portable theatre, con- 
taining seats for a thousand persons, riders, clowns, 
and monkeys, all complete. No such thing had ever 
been seen before; it threw far into the shade Da 

guerreotype and curing biscos. He had turned 
Campeachy upside down, and leaving his company 
there to soothe the excitement and pick up the pesos, 
he had come up to make arrangements for opening 
in Merida. And this was by no means Mr. Clay- 
ton’s first enterprise. He had brought the first gi- 
raffes into the United States from the Cape of Good 
Hope, and his accounts of penetrating fifteen hun- 
dred miles into the interior of Africa, of his adven- 
tures among the Caffres, of shooting lions, and his 
high excitement when, on a fleet horse, he ran down 
and shot his first giraffe, made the exploration of 
ruins seem a rather tame business. He reached the 
Cape with four giraffes, but two died after their ar- 
rival, and with the others he embarked for New- 
York, where he expected to deliver them over to the 
parties interested; but from the great care required 
in their treatment, it became indispensable for him 
to travel with them while they were exhibited. In 
one of the Western states he encountered a travelling 
circus company, which undertook to run an opposi 

tion on the same line of travel. The giraffes were 
rather too strong for the horses, and a proposition 
was made to him to unite the two and become di- 


THE POLITICAL HORIZON. 459 


rector of both, which he accepted. He afterward 
bought the latter out, and so became the manager 
of a strolling circus company. With it he travelled 
all over the United States, but in Canada his last 
giraffe died, and left him with a stock of horses and 
a company on hand. He returned to New-York, 
chartered a brig, and after touching and exhibiting 
at several West India Islands, sailed for Campeachy, 
where he was received with such enthusiasm, that 
among the benefits conferred upon mankind by au- 
thors, I rank high that of having been the means of 
introducing a circus company into Yucatan, in the 
belief that it may prove the first step toward break- 
ing up the popular taste for bull-fights. 

The next morning we advertised for sale our 
horses and equipments, and sallied out to visit our 
friends. Great changes had taken place since our 
departure. Abroad the political horizon was stormy. 
News had been received of increased difficulties, 
complicated and uncertain negotiations, and ap- 
prehensions of war between our own country and 
England; also of the failure of the Santa Fé expedi- 
tion, the capture and imprisonment of American cit- 
izens, and that ‘T’exas and the whole valley of the 
Mississippi were in arms to carry the war into Mex- 
ico. And black clouds were lowering, also, over Yu- 
catan. ‘The governor had lost his popularity. The 
great question opened by the revolution two years 
before was not yet decided. Independence was 
not declared; on the contrary, during our absence 


460 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


a commissioner had arrived from Mexico, and had 
negotiated a treaty for the return of Yucatan to the 
Mexican confederacy, subject to the approval or dis- 
approval of the Mexican government. In the mean 
while, electors were called to nominate deputies to 
the Mexican Congress, as if the treaty was approved, 
and at the same time the Legislature was summoned 
in extraordinary session, to provide for the protec- 
tion of the state against invasion, in case the treaty 
should be rejected. Both bodies were then sitting. 
Three days after our return, a vessel arrived at Sis- 
al, having on board a special envoy, bearing Santa 
Ana’s ultimatum. He was detained one day at the 
port, while the government considered the expedi- 
ency of permitting him to visit the capital. Apart- 
ments were prepared for him at our hotel, but he 
was taken to the house of the secretary of war, os- 
tensibly to save him from insult and violence by the 
populace, who were represented as highly excited 
against Mexico, but in reality to prevent him from 
holding communication with the partisans in favour 
of reunion. Great dissensions had grown up. The 
revolution had been almost unanimous, but two years 
of quasi independence had produced a great change 
of feeling. The rich complained of profligate ex- — 
penditures, merchants of the breaking up of trade by 
the closing of the Mexican ports, and while many 
asked what they had gained by a separation, a strong 
“independent” party was more clamorous than ever 
- for breaking the last link that bound them to Mexico 


PITIABLE CONDITION OF THE STATE. 46] 


I was in the Senate Chamber when the ultimatum 
of Santa Ana was read. A smile of derision flitted 
over the faces of senators, and it was manifest that 
the terms would not be accepted, yet no man rose 
to offer a declaration of independence. In the lob- 
by, however, an open threat was made to proclaim 
it viva voce in the plaza on the coming Sunday, and 
at the mouth of the cannon. ‘The condition of the 
state was pitiable in the extreme. It was a melan 
choly comment upon republican government, and 
the most melancholy feature was that this condition 
did not proceed from the ignorant and uneducated 
masses. ‘The Indians were all quiet, and, though 
doomed to fight the battles, knew nothing of the 
questions involved. It is my firm conviction that 
the constant and unceasing convulsions of the south- 
ern republics more than from any other cause grow 
out of the non-recognition or the violation of that 
great saving principle known among us as state 
rights. ‘The general government aims constantly 
at dominion over the states. [’ar removed by po- 
sition, ignorant of the wants of the people, and re- 
gardless of their feelings, it sends from the capital 
its military commandant, places him above the local 
authorities, cripples the strength of the state, and 
drains its coffers to support a strong, consolidated 
power. Such were the circumstances which had 
placed Yucatan in arms against the general govern- 
ment, and such, ere this, might have been the condi- 
tion of our own republic, but for the triumphant as- 


462 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


sertion of the great republican principle that the 
states are sovereign, and their rights sacred. 

While the clouds were becoming darker and more 
portentous, we were preparing for our departure from 
the country. A vessel was then at Sisal ready to 
sail. It was one which we had hoped never to 
be on board of again, being the old Alexandre, in 
which we made our former unlucky voyage, but we 
had now no alternative, being advised that if we lost 
that opportunity, it was entirely uncertain when an- 
other would present itself’ At the request of the 
governor, we delayed our departure a few days, that 
he might communicate with a relative in Campeachy, 
who wished a surgical operation performed by Doc- 
tor Cabot, and had passed two months in Merida 
awaiting our return. In the mean time the govern- 
or procured the detention of the vessel. 

On Sunday, the sixteenth of May, early in the 
morning, we sent off our luggage for the port, and in 
the afternoon we joined for the last time in a paseo. 
All day we had received intimations that an out- 
break was apprehended; a volcano was burning 
and heaving with inward fires, but there was the 
same cheerfulness, gayety, and prettiness as before, 
producing on our minds the same pleasing impres- 
sion, making us hope that these scenes might be 
long continued, and, above all, that they might not 
be transformed into scenes of blood. Alas! before 
these pages were concluded, that country which we 
had looked upon as a picture of peace, and in which 


HAVANA. 463 


we had met with so much kindness, was torn and 
distracted by internal dissensions, the blast of civil 
war was sounding through its borders, and an exas- 
perated, hostile army had landed upon its shores. 

In the evening we rode to the house of Dona 
Joaquina Peon, said farewell to our first, last, and 
best friends in Merida, and at ten o’clock started for 
the port. 

On 'Tuesday, the eighteenth, we embarked for Ha- 
vana. ‘I‘he old Alexandre had been altered and im- 
proved in her sailing, but not in her accommoda- 
tions. In fact, having on board eleven passengers, 
among whom were three women and two children, 
these could not well have been worse, and at one 
time our voyage threatened to be as long as the oth- 
er of unfortunate memory, but the captain, a survi- 
ver of the battle of Trafalgar, was the same excel- 
lent fellow as before. On the second of June we 
anchored under the walls of the Moro Castle. Be- 
fore obtaining passports to land, a barque entered, 
which we immediately recognised as an American, 
and on landing, learned that she was the Ann Loui- 
sa, Captain Clifford, one of a line of packets from 
Vera Cruz, had put in short of water, and was to 
sail the next day for New-York. The yellow fever 
had already broken out; there was no other vessel 
in port, and we determined, if possible, to get on 
board, but we were. met with a difficulty, which at 
first threatened to be insuperable. By the regula- 
tions of the port, it was necessary for all luggage to 


464 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 


be carried to the custom-house for inspection, and 
a list furnished beforehand of every article. The 
last was utterly impossible, as we had on board the 
whole miscellaneous collection made on our jour- 
ney, with no such thing as a memorandum of the 
items. But by the active kindness of our late con- 
sul, Mr. Calhoun, and the courtesy of his excellen- 
cy the governor, a special order was procured for 
transferring the whole without inspection from one 
vessel to the other. ‘The next day was occupied in 
the details of this business, and in the afternoon we 
joined in a paseo, the style and show of which, 
for the moment, made us think slightingly of the 
simple exhibition at Merida; and after dark, by the 
light of a single candle, with heads uncovered, we 
stood before the marble slab enclosing the bones of 
Columbus. | 

On the fourth we embarked on board the Ann Lou- 
isa. She was full of passengers, principally Span- 
iards escaping from the convulsions of Mexico, but 
Captain Clifford contrived to give us accommoda- 
tions much better than we were used to, and we 
found on board the comforts and conveniences of 
Atlantic packets. On the seventeenth we reached 
New-York. ‘The reader and | must again part, and 
trusting that he will find nothing in these pages to 
disturb the friendship that has hitherto existed be- 
tween us, I again return him my thanks for his kind- 
ness, and bid him farewell. 


APPENDIX TO VOL. II. 


4 MANUSCRIPT WRITTEN IN THE MAYA LANGUAGE, TREATING OF THE PRINCI: 
PAL EPOCHS OF THE HISTORY OF THE PENINSULA OF YUCATAN BEFORE THE 


CONQUEST. 


WITH COMMENTS BY DON PIO PEREZ, 


Principal Epochs of the Ancient History of Yucatan. 


Maya. 

Lar u tzolan Katun lukci ti cab ti 
yovoch Nonoual cante anflo Tutul 
Xiu ti chikin Zuina; u luumil u 
talelob Tulapan chiconahthan. Can- 
te bin ti Katun lic u ximbalob ca 
uliob uaye yetel Holon Chantepeuh 
yetel u cuchulob: ca hokiob ti pe- 
tene uaxac Ahau bin yan cuchi, uac 
Ahau, can Ahau cabil Ajau, can- 
kal haab catac hunppel haab; tumen 
hun piztun oxlahun Ahau cuchie ca 
uliob uay ti petene cankal haab ca- 
tac hunppel haab tu pakteil yete cu 
xinbalob lukci tu luumilob ca talob 
uay ti petene Chacnouitan lae. 


Vaxac Ahau, uac Ahau, cabil 
Ajau kuchei Chacnouitan Ahmekat 
Tutul Xiu hunppel haab minan ti 
hokal haab cuchi yanob Chacnoui- 
tan lae. 

Laitun uchciu chicpahal Tzucub- 
te Ziyan-caan lae Bakhalal, can 
_ Ahau, cabil Ahau, oxlahun Ahau 
oxkal haab cu tepalob Ziyan-caan 
ca emob uay lae: lai u haabil cu 
tepalob Bakhalal chuulte laitun 
chicpahi Chichen Itza lae. 


Vou. II—N NN 


Translation. 

Tus is the series of ‘“ Katunes,” or 
epochs, that elapsed from the time of 
their departure from the land and 
house of Nonoual, in which were the 
four Tutul Xiu, lying to the west of 
Zuina, going out of the country of 
Tulapan. Four epochs were spent 
in travelling before they arrived here, 
with Tolonchantepeuj and his fol- 
lowers. When they began their jour- 
ney toward this island, it was the 
8th Ajau, and the 6th, 4th, and 2d 
were spent in travelling; because in 
the first year of the 13th Ajau they 
arrived at this island, making togeth- 
er eighty-one years they were travel- 
ling, between their departure from 
their country and their arrival at this 
island of Chacnouitan. 

In the 8th Ajau arrived Ajmekat 
Tutul Xiu, and ninety-nine years 
they remained in Chacnouitan. 


Then took place the discovery ot 
the province of Ziyan-caan, or Baca- 
lar; the 4th Ajau, the 2d, and the 
13th, or sixty years, they ruled in 
Ziyan-caan, when they came here. 
During these years of their gevern- 
ment of the province of Bacalar oc- 
curred the discovery of Chichen Itza 


466 APPE 

Buluc Ahau, bolon Ajau, uuc 
Ahau, ho Ahau, ox Ahau, hun Ahau 
uac kal haab cu tepalob Chichen 
Itza ca paxi Chichen Itza, ca binob 
cahtal Chanputun ti yanhi u yoto- 
chob ah Ytzoab kuyen uincob Jae. 

Vac Ahau, chucuc u luumil Chan- 
putun, can Ahau, cabil Ahau, ox- 
lahun Ahau, buluc Ahau, bolon 
Ahau, uuc Ahau, ho Ahau, ox Ahau, 
hun Ahau, lahca Ahau, lahun Ajau; 
uaxac Ahau paxci Chanputun, ox- 
lahun kaal haab cu tepalob Chan- 
putun tumenel Ytza uincob ca talob 
u tzaclé u yotochob tu caten, laix tun 
u katunil binciob ah Ytzaob yalan che 
yalan aban yalan ak ti numyaob lae. 

Vac Ahau, can Ahau, ca kal haab 
catalob u heaob yotoch tu caten ca 
tu zatahob Chakanputun. 


Lai u katunil cabil Ahau, u heo- 
cicab Ahcuitok Tutul Xiu Vxmal. 
Cabil Ahau, oxlahun Ahau, buluc 
Ahau, bolon Ahau, uuc Ahau, ho 
Ahau, ox Ahau, hun Ahau, lahca 
Ahau, lahun Ahau, lahun kal haab 
cu tepalob yetel u halach uinicil 
Chichen Itza yetel Mayalpan. 

Lai u katunil bulue Ajau, bolon 
Ahau, uac Ahau, uaxac Ahau, pax- 
ci u halach uinicil Chichen Itza 
tumenel u kebanthan Hunac-eel, ca 
uch ti Chacxib-chac Chichen Itza tu 
kebanthan Hunac-eel u halach uini- 
cil Mayalpan ichpac. Cankal haab 
catac lahun piz haab, tu lahun tun 
uaxac Ahau cuchie; Jai u_ haabil 
paxci tumenel Ahzinteyutchan yetel 
Tzunte-cum, yetel Taxcal, yetel Pan- 
temit, Xuch-ucuet, yetel Ytzcuat, ye- 
tel Kakaltecat lay u kaba uinicilob 
lae nuctulob ahmayapanob lae. 


ND1X. : 

The 11th Ajau, 9th, 7th, 5th, 3d, 
and 1st Ajau, or 120 years, they 
ruled in Chichen Itza, when it was 

-abandoned, and they emigrated to 
Champoton, where the Ytzaes, holy 
men, had houses. 

The 6th Ajau they took possession 
of the territory of Champoton; the 4th 
Ajau, 2d, 13th, 11th, 9th, 7th, 5th, 3d, 
Ist, 12th, 10th, and the 8th, Champoton 
was destroyed or abandoned. Two 
hundred and sixty years reigned the 
Ytzaes in Champoton, when they re- 
turned in search of their homes, and 
then they lived for several epochs 
under the uninhabited mountains. 


The 6th Ajau, 4th Ajau, after 40 
years, they returned to their homes 
once more, and Champoton was lost 
to them. 

In this Katun of 2d Ajau, Aj- 
cuitok Tutul Xiu established him- 
selfin Uxmal; the 2d Ajau, the 13th, 
11th, 9th, 7th, 5th, 3d, 1st, the 12th and 
the 10th Ajau, equal to 200 years, they 
governed and reigned in Uxmal, with 
the governors of Chichen Itza and 
of Mayapan. 

After the lapse of the Ajau Ka- 
tunes of 11th, 9th, 6th Ajau, in the 
8th the Governor of Chichen Itza 
was deposed, because he murmured 
disrespectfully against Tunac-eel; 
this happened to Chacxibchac of Chi- 
chen Itza, who had spoken against 
Tunac-eel, governor of the fortress of 
Mayalpan. Ninety years had elap- 
sed, but the 10th of the 8th Ajau was 
the year in which he was overthrown © 
by Ajzinte-yutchan, with Tzunte- 
cum, T'axcal, Pantemit, Xuch-ucuet, 
Ytzcuat, and Kakaltecat; these are 
the names of the 7 Mayalpanes. 


APPENDIX. 


Laili u katunil uaxac Ahau, lai ca 
binob u pa ah Vimil Ahau tumenel 
u uahal-uahob yetel ah Ytzmal Vil 
Ahau Jae Oxlahun uuos u katuniJob 
ca paxob tumen Hunac-eel tumenel 
u oabalu naatob; uac Ahau ca 900i: 
hunkal haab catac can lahun pizi. 


Vac Ahau, can Ahau, cabil Ahau, 
oxlahun Ahau, buluc ahau, chucuc 
u luumil ich pa Mayalpan, tumenel 
u pach tulum, tumenel multepal ich 
cah Mayalpan, tumenel Ytza uinicob 
yetel ah Vimil Ahau lae, can kaal 
haab catac oxppel haab: yocol buluc 
Ahau cuchie paxci Mayalpan tume- 
nel ahuitzil oul, tan cah Mayalpan. 


Vaxac Ahau lay paxci Mayalpan . 


lai u katunil uac Ahau, can Ahau, 
cabil Ahau, lai haab ca yax mani 
upanoles u yaxilci caa luumi Yuca- 
tan tzucubte lae, oxkal haab paxac 
ich pa cuchie. 


Oxlahun Ahau, buluc Ahau, uchci 
mayacimil ich pa yetel nohkakil: 
oxlahun Ahau cimei Ahpula uacp- 
pel haab u binel ma sococ u xocol 
oxlahun Ahau cuchie, ti yanil u xo- 
col haab ti lakin cuchie, canil kan 
cumlahi pop, tu holhun Zip catac 
oxppeli, bolon Ymix u kinil lai cimi 
Ahpula; laitun aio cu ximbal euchi 
lae ca oheltabac lay u xoc numeroil 
aiios lae 1536 aiios cuchie, oxkal ha- 
ab paaxac ich pa cuchi lae. 

Laili ma sococ u_xocol buluc 
Ahau lae lai ulci erpafioles kul uin- 
cob ti lakin u talob ca uliob uay tac 
hurmil lae bolon Ahau hoppci cris- 
tianoil uchci caputzihil: lailiichil u 


467 


In this same period, or Katun, of 
the 8th Ajau, they attacked King 
Ulmil, in consequence of his quar- 
rel with Ulil, king of Yzamal; thir- 
teen divisions of troops had he when 
he was routed by T'unac-eel; in the 
6th Ajau the war was over, after 34 
years. 

In the 6th Ajau, 4th Ajau, 2d 
Ajau, 13th Ajau, 11th Ajau, the for- 
tified territory of Mayalpan was in- 
vaded by the men of Ytza, under 
their King Ulmil, because they had 
walls, and governed in common the 
people of Mayalpan; eighty-three 
years elapsed after this event, and at 
the beginning of the 11th Ajau May- 
alpan was destroyed by strangers of 
the Uitzes, or Highlanders, as was 
also T'ancaj of Mayalpan. 

In the 6th Ajau Mayalpan was 
destroyed; the epochs of 6th Ajan, 
4th and 2d Ajau, elapsed, and at this 
period the Spaniards, for the first 
time, arrived, and gave the name of 
Yucatan to this province, sixty years 
after the destruction of the fortress. 

The 13th Ajau, 11th Ajau, pesti- 
lence and smallpox were in the cas- 
tles. In the 13th Ajau Ajpula died; 
six years were wanting to the com- 
pletion of the 13th Ajau; this year 
was counted toward the east of the 
wheel, and began on the 4th “ Kan.” 
Ajpula died on the 18th day of the 
month Zip, in the 9th Ymix; and 
that it may be known in numbers, it 
was the year 1536, sixty years after 
the demolition of the fortress. 

Before the termination of the 11th 
Ajau the Spaniards arrived; holy 
men from the East came with ‘them 
when they reached this land. The 
9th Ajau was the commencement of 


468 APPENDIX. 


katunil lae ulci yax obispo Toroba baptism and Christianity; and im 
u kaba. this year was the arrival of Toral, 
the first bishop. 


Thus far only from the Maya manuscript, because the other events cited 
are posterior to the conquest, and of little historical interest. Although 
this manuscript may contain some errors which should be rectified, still, as 
these are committed in the numeration of the epochs, or Ajaues, which do 
not keep a correlative numerical order, it was very easy for the author, 
who wrote from memory, to transpose them; preserving solely the number 
of periods which elapsed between the occurrence of one and the other 
event, without designating correctly the sign of the period. I repeat that 
the writer of this epitome did it from memory, because it was done long 
after the conquest: the histories, paintings, and hieroglyphics of the In- 
dians had about this period been collected by order of Bishop Landa, as is 
related by Cogolludo in his history; and likewise because his historical 
narrative is so succinct, that it appears rather a list than a circumstantial 
detail of the events. But, notwithstanding these defects, as the manuscript 
is the only one which has been found treating of this matter, it is well 
worthy the trouble of correcting and analyzing it, on account of the ideas 
which it communicates respecting the ancient history and establishment of 
the principal peoples of that time, whose ruins are admired at the present 
day, such as those-of Chichen and Uxmal; deducing from these, what were 
the others which the traveller encounters, and whose origin is unknown. 

The manuscript may be abridged in the following manner: “Four 
epochs were expended by the Toltecos between their departure from their 
city under the direction of Tolonchante Peech, and their arrival at Chac- 
nouitan.* ‘They arrived at this province of Chacnouitan in the first year 
of the following epoch, and remained in the same place with their captain 
Ajmekat Tutul Xiu during the space of four epochs more.t They discov- 
ered Ziyancan, or Bacalar, and governed in it three epochs, until they 
came to Chichen Itza.t ‘They remained here until their departure to colo- 
nize Champoton, a period of six epochs.§ From the discovery of Cham- 
poton, where they settled and reigned until it was destroyed, and they lost 
it, thirteen epochs elapsed.ll_ They were wanderers among the hills during 
two epochs, when they established themselves for the second time at Chi- 
chen Itza.f In the following epoch, Ajcuitok Tutul Xiu colonized Uxmal, 
and reigned with the governor of Mayapan during ten epochs.** After a 
farther lapse of three epochs, and on the tenth year of the one following, 
Chacxibchac, governor of Chichen Itza, was defeated by Tunac-eel, gov- 


* From the year 144 of the vulgar era up to 217. t From 218 until 360. 
+ From 360 until 432. § From 432 until 576. | From 576 until 888. 
| From 888 until 936 ** From 936 until 1176. 


APPENDIX. 469 


ernor otf Mayapan, and his seven generals.* In this same epoch of the de- 
feat of the Governor of Chichen, they marched to attack Ulmil, king of 
Chichen, because he had made war against Ulil, king of Yzamal, and the 
object was effected by Tunac-eel in the following epoch.t After this 
epoch, Ulmil, king of Chichen, recovering from his defeat, invaded the 
territory of Mayapan in the following epoch, and, after the lapse of two 
more, and in the third year of the one following, Mayapan was destroyed 
by the strangers, inhabitants of the hills.t After the lapse of three more 
epochs, the Spaniards arrived for the first time, and gave to this province 
the name of Yucatan.§ In the following epoch occurred the plague, which 
visited even the temples and castles; and in its sixth year Ajpula died, on 
the 11th of September, 1493.11 In the eleventh epoch, and the last of this 
record, was the arrival of the conquerors; this happened in 1527.7 Inthe 
following epoch the conquest was finished, and the first bishop reached the 
province: the first occurred in January, 1541, and the other in 1569,” 





= 


MEMORANDUM FOR THE ORNITHOLOGY OF YUCATAN. 


Tue genus Accipitres, including eagles, falcons, buzzards, &c., is very 
numerous, and of these three or four new varieties were obtained. One, a 
beautiful hawk, resembling in its markings the goshawk (Falco Atrica- 
pillus), differing, however, in its form, in the bill, colour of its eyes (dark 
brown), in not having the white line over the eyes, and in the bands on the 
tail. ‘The first specimen was killed at Uxmal, but afterward many others 
were procured, and two were brought home. Another new and beautiful 
species is a falcon of a very noble character in the form of its bill and head, 
and in its habits; of which two specimens were obtained at Chichen Itza, 
the male being shot over the senoté during a heavy shower. No others 
but this pair were seen. Another is undescribed, or, if described, imper- 
fectly so, under the name of the mingled buzzard of Latham (La Busc 
Mixté Noire. Voy. d’Azara, vol. iii., No. 20). Itis a large black hawk, 
and was obtained, the female at Punta Francaise, and the male at the isl- 
and of.Cozumel, where a nest also was found, but was destroyed, together 
with the eggs, in consequence of Dr. Cabot’s being obliged to have the tree 
felled. He afterward procured an egg from a nest between Silan and Las 
Bockas de Silan. Another very beautiful hawk is shaped much like the 
little corporal of Audubon, and belongs to the same division of hawks as 
the hobby falcon of Europe. It is a bold hawk, and is met with about 


* From 1176 until 1258, in which was the defeat. t+ From 1258 until 1272. 
¢ From 1272 until 1368, the date of the destruction of Mayapan. And the following, 
from 1368 to 1392. § From 1392 until 1488. || From 1488 until 1512. 


From 1512 until 1536, which concluded the eleventh epoch ; the following one beginning 
in 1536, and concluding in the year 1560. 


40 


470 APPENDIX. 


the ruins and on the tops of the churches. It is quite abundant in Yu- 
catan, though only one specimen was obtained, which was shot from the 
top of the cross over the gateway at the hacienda of the senoté (Mu- 
cuyché), as we rode up on our way to Uxmal. ‘There does not appear to 
be any published description of this hawk. Still another hawk was pro- 
cured, which also seems not to have been described; but, as it appears to 
be in immature plumage, it may be the young of some known bird. Be- 
sides these, among the specimens is the laughing falcon (Falco Cachin- 
nans of Lin.). It is called by the natives koss, and was shot at Chichen 
Itza near the Castillo, and was stuffed. Another specimen of the same bird 
was procured on the way from Nohcacab to Uxmal, after our first attack 
of sickness, These birds are quite numerous throughout Yucatan. 

Of the genus Strix but three varieties were seen, and of those two were 
preserved, both of which are believed to be undescribed. The first, a little 
owl, about six inches and a half long, of a tawny colour, lighter beneath, 
which was shot near Merida. The second is about six inches long, of a 
brown above and lighter beneath, called by the natives tiquim thohca. 
Several specimens of both these owls were seen. The third was caught 
in one of the ruined buildings, and kept alive for a little while, but after- 
ward escaped. It resembled somewhat the Strix Aluco of Europe. One 
was afterward shot at Sabachshé, but was so much injured that it could 
not be stuffed. 

Of the genus Corvus were procured three species, two of which are ap- 
parently not described. The first is a very beautiful jay, the head and 
belly black; back, wings, and tail of a beautiful blue; the bill of the male 
is yellow, and of the female black; the legs yellow. It was first seen and 
shot near Sisal, on the way up to Merida, and afterward several other spe- 
cimens were obtained in different parts of the country, for they are numer- 
ous throughout Yucatan. The other was first met with at Uxmal, where 
a female was shot, and afterward two males. They are of a dark brown 
on the head, neck, back, and tail; belly white; bill of male black, and female 
yellow; they have a most singular formation of the trachea, there being a 
sort of membranous sack or bag coming off in front of the trachea at about 
the middle of its length, and intimately connected with the skin of the neck; 
this formation, together with the great muscularity of the larynx, may ac- 
count for their excessively loud and disagreeable cry. The other jay is the 
Corvus Peruvianus, Peruvian jay. (Shaw, vol. viii., plate 27.) This 
most beautiful bird is found in great abundance in almost all parts of 
Yucatan, which is probably its native country, as it is mentioned as rare 
in Peru. 

Of the genus Psittacus were procured four species, three of which have 
been described, and perhaps the fourth also; but, as the specimen is bad, it 
is not easy to ascertain positively whether it has or not. One, the Psit- 
tacus Albifrons (Ind. Orn., vol. i., p. 119), white-crowned parrot (Shaw 


APPENDIX. 471 


vol. viii., p. 519), is very numerous throughout Yucatan. It is a beau- 
tiful bird, coloured with green, blue, red, white, and yellow. Another, 
supposed to be the Psittacus Guianensis (Gen. Lil., vol. i., p. 323), the 
green parrot of Guiana (Gen. Syn., i., 231), is not so abundant as the last, 
but still quite numerous. The specimens were procured at Ticul, and 
some were afterward shot near Iturbide. The third species was not seen 
in the wild state, the only specimen procured being given to Dr. Cabot, 
alive, by the padre Curillo, of Ticul. It is the Psittacus Macao (Ind. 
Orn., vol. i., p. 82), red and blue macaw (Gen. Syn., i., 199). 

Of the genus Ramphastos one specimen was procured, the yellow- 
breasted toucan (Gen. Syn., vol. i., p. 326), Ramphastos Tucanus (Ind. 
Orn., vol. i., p. 136). This specimen does not agree with the description in 
Latham, but is the same as the one described by Mr. Edwards from a liv- 
ing specimen in Lord Spencer’s collection. It was procured at Uxmal on 
the day when Dr. Cabot went down to the hacienda to operate on an Indian’s 
leg. ‘Two or three different species were afterward seen at Macoba, but 
Dr. C. did not succeed in killing any of them. 

Of the genus Momotus were obtained two species: the first, the common 
Brazilian or blue-headed motmot; this was quite common in Yucatan, but 
not so common as the other, as to which it is doubtful whether it has been 
described. It is about the same length as the blue-headed, but the tail is 
longer in proportion to the body. ‘The markings on the plumage are very 
different from those of the Brazilian; there is a black stripe extending 
down from the chin to the middle of the breast, bordered on each side with 
light blue; a broad, light blue, almost white, stripe extends over the eye 
from the base of the bill almost to the hind head. The general colour is a 
sort of greenish bay; primaries and tail light green, tipped with black; the 
two central feathers of the tail much longer than in the Brazilian, having 
the shaft bare to a much greater degree, and the feather at the tip is bright 
pale green, tipped broadly with black. 

Of the genus Crotophaga one species was procured, the lesser ani (Cro- ° 
tophagi Ani. Ind. Orn., vol. i., p. 448). These were very abundant in all 
parts of the country. 

Of the genus Oriolus, including under this denomination Icterus and 
Cassicus, were procured five species, one of which is supposed to be new, 
three doubtful, and one known. The male of the new species is nine inch- 
es and a half long; head, neck, cheeks, breast, belly, rump, tertiaries, and 
nearly the whole length of the outer tail feathers and the lower part of the 
third, and occasionally a stripe on the fourth, bright chrome yellow; face, 
throat, primaries, secondaries, back, and four, and sometimes six tail 
feathers, black; legs bluish; bill black, except the base of lower mandible, 
which is bluish; sings finely. Female eight inches and seventh eighths 
long; marked like the male, but not so brilliant; irides hazel. One of the 
doub’ ful comes very near to Latham’s description of the lesser Bonana bird | 

. 


472 APPENDIX. 


(Oriolus Xanthornus. Ind. Orn., vol. i.,p.181), but isan Icterus, and differs 
in some particulars of plumage. Another of the doubtful resembles closely 
the black oriole, and another the black cassican, but is smaller. The 
known species is the St. Domingo oriole (Oriolus Dominicensis. Ind. 
Orn., vol. i., p. 182). ‘Two specimens of this bird were procured, being the 
only two that were seen. 

Of the genus Cuculus, including Polophilus, were procured two species. 
One resembles somewhat the bird described by Latham as the variegated 
coucal (Polophilus Variegatus); the other the Cayenne cuckoo (Cuculus 
Cayanus. Ind. Orn., vol. i., p. 221). These were both quite abundan: 
taroughout the country. 

Of the genus Picus were procured three species, two of which are per- 
haps new. One of these resembles the little woodpecker of Europe (Picus 
Minor) very closely., The other resembles Latham’s description of. the 
Brazilian woodpecker (Picus Braziliensis). ‘The known one is the linea- 
ted woodpecker (Picus Lineatus. Ind. Orn., vol. i., p. 226). 

Of the genus Certhia were obtained two species, of one of which no de- 
scription has been found, though Dr. Cabot was under the impression that 
he had seen specimens of it in some of the cabinets of Europe. It is three 
inches and seven eighths long; top of head, neck, and back, dark brown, 
each feather having a light, buff-coloured, pear-shaped mark in the centre; 
chin light buff colour; breast and belly light brown, each feather having 
also a light buff-coloured mark down the centre; primaries, secondaries, , 
tertiaries, and tail dun-coloured ; bill one inch and three eighths alang 
the ridge, and one inch and five eighths along the gap, bent in its whole 
length, and horn-coloured. ‘They were not numerous. The other species 
is the yellow-bellied nectarinia (Nectarinia Flaveola. Vieill., Ois. Dor. 
Certh., plate 51, p. 102). ‘They were quite numerous at Cozumel, where 
two specimens were procured. They were not seen in any other part of 
the country. | 

Of the genus T'rochilus were procured two or three species, one of which 
_ is undescribed; another is probably the young of the same, and one is de- 
scribed. The undescribed, male, is four inches long; bill six eighths of an 
inch, yellowish, tipped with black; upper parts of head and back dull 
green; throat and upper part of breast bright emerald green in scales, with 
metallic lustre; lower part of breast, belly, and tail dun or bay colour; the 
. feathers of the tail fringed and tipped with black; primaries dark brown, 
with some purplish reflections. The four middle tail feathers have green- 
ish reflections on them. The female is rather less, and wants the bright 
emerald throat, the whole under parts being bay-coloured; the male has 
some white about the thighs. The known species is the Ourissia hum- 
_ ming-bird (Trochilus Maugeri. Lesson.). 

Of the genus Turdus were procured two species, thought to be new. 
One agrees very nearly with Le Merle de Paraguai, or Calandra, e de- 


APPENDIX. 473 


scribed in Vieillot, but it wants the white on the wings. The other is a 
good deal like the Turdus Plumbeus, as described by the same author. 
The first is quite common throughout Yucatan, but the second is rather 
rare. 

Of the genus Loxia were obtained four species, three of which are in 
immature plumage, and cannot, therefore, be placed with certainty. The 
other does not appear te have been described, though there are some de- 
scriptions which come near it, The male is nearly ten inches long; head 
and chin, extending down the sides of the neck, and in a crescent across 
the upper part of the breast, black; cheeks very dark steel gray; a white 
line extending from the bill over the eye almost to the hind head; hind head, 
back, secondaries, outer edge of the primaries, yellow olive; also the tail; 
the shafts of the feathers are black; part of the chin and throat pure white > 
breast, belly, and thighs cinereous; vent, and under the tail coverts, light 
bay; bill quite stout, nearly an inch long, and black; the female is about 
nine inches long, having dark cinereous brown in place of the olive; the 
other markings much the same as the male, but not so vivid. They are 
very common throughout Yucatan, and said to be very destructive in the 
fields and gardens: called by the Indians ¢sapin. 

Of the genus Emberiza one was procured, in immature plumage; prob- 
ably the painted bunting. 

Of the genus Pipra one: the blue and yellow manakin, not common in 
Yucatan. 

Of the genus Tanagra were procured two species, one of which is the 
red-crested tanager of Latham. But one pair was seen. The other is be- 
lieved to be undescribed. The specimen was a male, six inches and a 
quarter long; bill inflated, and strongly toothed; at about the middle of the 
upper mandible, six eighths of an inch along the gap, top of the head, 
wings, and tail, of a deep raspberry, approaching maroon colour; back 
cinereous, tinged with red; chin and throat bright rose colour; breast and 
belly light cinereous; vent and under tail coverts light rosy red. 

Of the genus Fringilla was procured one species, believed to be de- 
scribed in Latham as the cinereous finch (Fringilla Cinerea); they were 
quite common about Merida in the latter part of May. 

Of the genus Lanius three species were obtained, all of which have been 
described. They are the Cayenne shrike (L. Cayanus. Ind. Orn., vol.i., 
p. 80), the rusty shrike (LL. Rubiginosus), and the gray-headed shrike 
(Tanagra Guianensis. Ind. Orn., vol. i., p. 427), more properly the Lanius 
G. This bird sings quite prettily, and is rather common in Yucatan, 
The other two were rarer, especially the second. 

Of the genus Muscicapa were obtained five species, four of which have 
been described. The specimen procured of the fifth was a male. It is six 
inches and a half long; bill one inch along the gap quite stout and broad; — 
top of the head and nape black; back, wings, and tail very dark, slaty 

Vou. I1—O 00 


474 APPENDIX. 


brown; breast, belly, cheeks, and chin light cinereous; throat and upper 
part of the breast bright rose colour; legs black. This was the only spe- 
cimen seen in the country. ‘The others were Muscicapa Coronata (round- 
crested flycatcher. Shaw, vol. v., pl.13). This is quite common through- 
out Yucatan. Muscicapa Sulphuratus, not rare; M. Barbata, quite com- 
mon; M. Ferox, very common. 

Of the genus Sylvia one was obtained, in young plumage, and, therefore, 
uncertain whether new or not. 

Of the genus Caprimulgus one species was obtained; the specimen so 
poor that nothing can be made of it. 

Of the genus Columba were procured two species, one of which is in 
such imperfect plumage that its character cannot be made out. The other 
agrees very nearly with the blue pigeon (Columba Cerulea. Ind. Orn., 
vol. ii., p. 601). Both are common in Yucatan. 

Of the genus Meleagris was procured one species (Meleagris Ocellata), 
the ocellated turkey, Cuv. This most magnificent bird is common through. 
out Yucatan. 

Of the genus Penelope were procured two species; one the crested guan 
(P.Crestata. Ind. Orn., vol. ii., p.619). ‘These are called kosh by the na- 
tives; the only specimen seen was given to Dr. Cabot by the brother of the 
padrecito at Ticul, and was still alive in November, 1842. The other is 
the Penelope, or Phasianus Paragua (Ind. Om., vol. ii., p. 632). They 
are common in all parts of Yucatan, where they are called chachalacha, 
from the noise they make, which is perfectly astounding, and also bach by 
the Indians. ‘They have a most remarkable arrangement of the trachea, 
which passes down on the external surface of the muscles, between them 
and the skin, in a long loop as low as the pubis, and then passes up on the 
other side, and enters the thorax. 

Of the genus Crax two species were obtained; the red curassow (Crax 
Rubra, Lin., vol. i., p. 270), and C. Globicera (globose curassow). ‘They 
are found throughout the country, and are called by the natives kambool. 

Of the genus Tinamus one species was obtained, the variegated tina- 
mou (T. Variegatus). They are quite common throughout Yucatan, 
where they are called by the natives partridges. They are kept tame in 
many of the houses, being very useful in destroying scorpions, &c. 

Of the genus Ortyx one species was obtained, which, as far as the plu- 
mage and size go, is undescribed, but it has the same note, habits, &c., as 
our quail or partridge. It is smaller; the throat of the male is jet black, 
and most of the markings are different, though having a general resem- 
blance to the Ortyx or Perdix Virginianus. They are very numerous in 
all parts of Yucatan. 

Of the genus Cancroma one specimen was procured, the cinereous boat- 
bill, which was killed at the senoté at Chichen. 

Of the genus Jacana also one species was obtained, the variable jacana 


APPENDIX. 475 


(Parra or Jacana Variabilis. Ind. Orn., vol. i; p. 763). It was killed at 
Uxmal, at one of the small aguadas, and was the only one seen in the 
country. 

Of the genus Gallinula Dr. Cabot procured two species, the Cayenne 
gailinule (G. Cayanensis. Ind. Orn., vol. ii., p. 767) and the black-bellied 
gallinule (G. Ruficollis. Ind. Orn., vol. ii., p. 767). 

Of the long-billed wren one specimen only was seen. The violet-headed 
trogon was more common, several having been procured in different places. 

Besides the birds enumerated above, the following list comprises those 
which were procured in Yucatan, and which are found also in the United 
States, and have been well described by different naturalists. 


Birds observed in Yucatan during the winter of 1841,’2, between the months of 
October and June, which are also fownd in the United States, and have been 
jigured and described by Wilson, Audubon, Bonaparte, and Nuttall. 


Cathartes Jota, all parts. 
Cathartes Papa, at Labphak. 


Cathartes Aura, all parts; less nu- 


merous than the C. Jota. 
Aquila (?) Caracara, all parts. 
Falco Pennsylvanicus. 
Falco Haliztos. 
Falco Cyaneus. 
Falco Sparverius. 
Icterus Spurius. 
Quiscalus Major. 
Quiscalus Versicolor. 
Muscicapa Crinita. 
Muscicapa Virens. 
Muscicapa Atra. 
Muscicapa Ruticilla. 
Muscicapa Verticatis. (?) 
Turdus Polyglottus. 
Turdus Noveboracensis. 
Turdus Lividus, Felisox. 
Sylvia Virens. 
Sylvia Mitrata. 
Sylvia Trichas. 
Sylvia Protonotarius. 
Sylvia Maculosa. (?) 
Sylvia istiva. 
Sylvia Americana. 
Sylvia Coronata. 


Tanagra Adstiva. 
Tanagra Rubra. 

Fringilla Ludoviciana. 
Fringilla Ciris. 

Fringilla Cyanea. 

Loxia Cerulea. 

Loxia Cardinalis. 

Picus Carolinensis. 
Trochilus Colubris. 
Trochilus Mango. 

Alcedo Alcyon. 

Hirundo Rufa. 

Hirundo Lunifrons. (7) 
Hirundo Riparia. 
Cypselus Pelasgius. 
Caprimulgus Carolinensis. 
Columba Passerina. 
Columba Leucocephala. 
Columba Zenaida. 
Calidris Arenaria. 
Himantopus Nigricollis. 
Hematopus Ostralagus. 
Charadrius Melodus. 
Charadrius Wilsonius. (7) 
Charadrius Semipalmatus. (?} 
Charadrius Helveticus. 
Strepsilus Interpres. 
Ardea Herodias. 


476 


Ardea Rufescens. 
Ardea Egretta. 

Ardea Candidissima. 
Ardea Ludoviciana. (7) 
Ardea Nycticorax. 
Ardea Ceerulea. 
Ardea Lentiginosa. 
Ardea Virescens. 
Ardea Exilis. 

Aramus Scolopaceus. 
Pheenicopterus Ruber. 
Platalea Ajaja. 

Ibis Alba. 


Numenius Longirostris. 


Tringa Wilsonii. 
Tringa Semipalmata. 


Totanus Semipalmatus. 


Totanus Vociferus. 
Totanus Flavipes. 


APPENDIX. 


Totanus Bartramius. 
Limosa Fedoa. 

Scolopax Grisea. 
Scolopax Wilsonii. 
Gallinula Martinica. 
Podiceps Minor. 

Sterna Cayana. 

Sterna Boysii. 

Larus Atricilla. 
Thalassidroma Wilsonii. 
Anas Boschas. 

Anas Strepera. 

Anas Acuta. 

Anas Americana. 

Anas Discors. 
Pelecanus Onocrotalus. 
Phalacrocorax Carbo. 
Phalacrocorax Graculus, 
Trachypetes Aquilus. 


Totanus Chloropygius. 
Totanus Macularius. 


Pheton /Mthereus. (?) 


COMMUNICATION FROM MR. SCHOOLCRAFT. 


THE RED HAND. 


Tue figure of the human hand is used by the North American Indians to 
denote supplication to the Deity or Great Spirit; and it stands in the system 
of picture writing as the symbol for strength, power, or mastery, thus de- 
rived. In a great number of instances which I have met with of its being 
employed, both in the ceremonial observances of their dances and in their 
pictorial records, I do not recollect a single one in which this sacred charac- 
ter is not assigned to it. Their priests are usually drawn with outstretched 
and uplifted hands. Sometimes one hand and one arm, but more commonly 
both are uplifted. Itis not uncommon for those among them who profess the 
arts of medicine, magic, and prophecy (the three are sometimes united and 
sometimes not) to draw or depict a series of representative or symbolical fig- 
ures on bark, skins of animals, or even tabular pieces of wood, which are a 
kind of notation, and the characters are intended to aid the memory in singing 
the sacred songs and choruses. When the inscriptions are found to be on 
wood, as they often are in the region of Lake Superior and the sources of 
the Mississippi, they have been sometimes called ‘‘ music boards.” I in- 
duced a noted meta, or priest, to part with one of these figured boards, many 
years ago, and afterward obtained impressions from it in this city by passing 


APPENDIX. 477 


it through Mr. Maverick’s rolling press. It was covered with figures on both 
sides, one side containing forty principal figures ; six embrace the symbol] 
of the uplifted hand, four of which had also the arm, but no other part of the 
body, attached. ‘Their import, which the man also imparted to me, is given 
in the general remark above. On the reverse of this board, consisting of 
thirty eight characters, nine embrace the uplifted hand, in one case from a 
headless trunk, but in the eight others connected with the whole frame. 

The design of the hand is uniformly the same with our tribes, whether it 
be used disjunctively or alone, or connected with the arm alone, or with the 
whole body. In the latter cases it is a compound symbol, and reveals 
some farther particular or associated idea of the action. The former is the 
most mysterious use of it, precisely because there are no accessories to 
help out the meaning, and it is, I think, in such isolated cases. to be re- 
garded as a general sign of devotion. 

In the course of many years’ residence on the frontiers, including various 
journeyings among the tribes, I have had frequent occasion to remark 
the use of the hand alone as a symbol, but it has generally been a sym- 
bol applied to the naked body after its preparation and decoration for sa- 
cred or festive dances. And the fact deserves farther consideration, from 
these preparations being generally made in the arcanum of the med- 
icine, or secret lodge, or some other private place, and with all the skill of 
the priest’s, the medicine man’s, or the juggler’s art. The mode of apply- 
ing it in these cases is by smearing the hand of the operator with white or 
coloured clay, and impressing it on the breast, the shoulder, or other part 
of the body. The idea is thus conveyed, that a secret influence, a charm, 
a mystic power is given to the cancer, arising from his sanctity or his pro- 
ficiency in the occult arts. This use of the hand is not confined toa single 
tribe or people. Ihave noticed it alike among the Dacotahs, the Winneba- 
goes, and other Western tribes, as among the numerous branches of the 
red race still located east of the Mississippi River, above the latitude of 
42°, who speak dialects of the Algonquin language. 

A single additional fact appears to me to be pertinent to your inquiry. 
In an excursion which I made in the year 1831 into the more unfrequented 
and interior parts of the Chippewa country, lying between the group of the 
Twelve Apostles’ [Islands in Lake Superior and the Falls of St. Anthony, 1 
came to a curious edifice, situated in the edge of the forest, on the elevated 
banks of a fine lake, which was exclusively used as the village temple. It 
was built of stout posts, describing a circle, firmly and well sheathed with 
thick bark, fastened on transverse pieces. It constituted a peculiarity in 
this structure that there was a circular building within, or, rather, it was 
arranged after the manner of the whorls of a sea-shell, so that a person 
could, as it were, involve himself in a labyrinth. It hada single door, sub- 
ject to the entrance of the priest only. As this person was the political 
chief of the band, and a man of more than ordinary intellect, he appeared 


478 APPENDIX. 


to have adopted this mode of exhibiting his skill and securing and extend- 
ing his power. He permitted me to inspect the building. Drums, rattes, 
and other insignia of the priest’s art, were hung upon the wall. Heads of 
men were rudely carved or inscribed, and numerous marks of the hand, as 
in the case of naked dancers, were impressed on the involutions of the in- 
ner walls. 

I have expressed the opinion that the human hand denotes strength, or pow- 
er, or mastery arising from devotional acts. The want or absence of the 
hand or arm, therefore, in these symbolical figures, should imply impotence, 
weakness, or cowardice, arising from fright, subjugation, or other causes; 
and such is found to be the import of the armless figure of the human body 
in two of the symbols of the ancient hieroglyphic inscription on the Asso 
net, or Dighton Rock, as explained by the well-cnown American chief 


Chingerauk. 


THE END. 











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